Dragons speak Parseltongue too, you know
by Potterwatcher
Summary: Harry befriends the dragon in the first task, and this makes all the difference. Watch as Harry rebels against the ministry, forms a bond with a dragon the likes of which hasn't been seen in centuries, and goes up against Voldemort! And he might just fall in love along the way... RonDumbles(possibly)GinnyMolly bashing, and Harry/Hermione/Luna for the pairing!
1. Et Smaragdus Ignis

**A/N: So, I've always wondered, if dragons are related to snakes, why can't they speak parseltongue too? This is my version of how the first task in GoF could have gone differently. Please R&amp;R!**

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Harry took a deep breath before stepping out of the tent to face his dragon. He was just about to summon his Firebolt when he realized that the dragon was… talking? "_What is going on? Are they going to hurt my eggs? Where am I?"_ Were some of the questions that he heard.

Harry's heart softened at the sight of the poor frightened mother to-be. _"It's alright. No one will hurt your eggs."_

The dragon turned and looked at him in shock. "_You speak?"_

"_Erm, I guess. This just sounds like English to me."_

"_What is your name, speaker? Why am I here? What business do you humans have with my eggs?"_

Harry was silent for a moment as he tried to figure out how to explain the Triwizard Tournament to a dragon. "_I am Harry Potter, but you can call me Harry. A lot of humans are... silly creatures. They like having competitions, to see who is the strongest. This is one of those competitions, and the task is to get a fake egg from a nesting mother dragon, such as yourself, as fast as possible, because dragons are some of the strongest and hardest creatures for a human to defeat." _He finished, careful not to offend the fierce dragon.

"_My name is Et Smaragdus Ignis. You may call me Ignis. You sound as if you do not wish to partake in this contest, yet here you are. Why?"_

Harry sighed. "_Someone else entered me in this Tournament against my will, probably hoping to kill me."_

"_I will not stand in your way. Fetch the fake egg, Parva Corvum."_ She hesitated for a moment before continuing._ "After this... task is over, would you care to visit me sometime? You are fairly intelligent for a human."_

Harry laughed. "_Thank you for your kindness. I would love to visit you later." _He replied as he walked forward and grabbed the egg. Just before exiting the arena, he turned and waved to his new friend.

As soon as he got out of the arena Harry was bustled off to the medical tent by Madame Pomfrey. "What were they thinking? Honestly, dragons!" She muttered before proceeding to check him over. "Harry, are you injured at all?" Harry smiled at the lack of formality between them. Ever since the end of his second year, when Harry had spent hours and hours in the hospital wing with Hermione while she was petrified, he and Madame Pomfrey had been on first name terms.

"No. Ignis was really reasonable after I explained what was going on to her." Harry said calmly, right before he was tackled by a mass of brown hair that he identified as Hermione.

"Harry! Are you alright? Oh my goodness, I was so frightened when you didn't summon your Firebolt." Hermione stopped talking when a red-faced Ron entered the tent.

"You rotten parseltongue! What the hell did you do, agree to feed that dragon a bunch of first years in exchange for the egg?"

"Ron!" Hermione gasped in shock. "He could have been killed!"

"But he wasn't! He wasn't even hurt! All the other champions were hurt, and they're three years older than him! There's no way that he could have managed that if he wasn't a dark wizard! Besides, only dark wizards use parseltongue, everyone knows that."

"Are you even listening to what you're saying Weasley? Because we sure as hell aren't." Harry interjected coolly, "I don't believe that anyone asked you what you thought. Now if you'll excuse us, it's time for the judges to give out my score." He finished with a glare as he and Hermione left the tent.

"I'm so sorry, Harry! I-I thought he was just being thick, but he's being just as bigoted as Malfoy, only the other way around."

"Don't worry, Hermione, it's not your fault that he's a prat."

"But I kept trying to get you to make up with that pig!"

"You only did what you thought was right. Now cheer up, the judges really are about to give out scores."

Harry and Hermione both turned to look at the judges. Madame Maxime went first, awarding him a very large 10, which Bagman, Dumbledore, and Crouch quickly replicated, while Karkaroff gave him a 7. When people booed at him for this Karkaroff yelled right back. "He vaz zuppozed to fight ze dragon, not have a nice chat with it!"

Dumbledore had to shoot several fireworks out of his wand to get the crowd calm enough for Bagman to announce the final scores. Bagman's sonorified voice boomed across the stadium. "Attention, ladies and gentleman. In third place, with a time of 22 minutes and 14 seconds and a score of 40 points, is Cedric Diggory of Hogwarts. Tied for second place, are Viktor Krum of Durmstrang with a time of 19 minutes and 56 seconds, and Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons with a time of 20 minutes and 22 seconds, boh with 42 points. The tie is due to the fact that Krum was penalized for destroying one of the dragon eggs. And last, but most definitely not least, in first place, with a time of 5 minutes and 28 seconds and 47 points, is Harry Potter of Hogwarts!

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**A/N: So what did you think? This little ficlet just popped into my head and begged to be written, so I did. I'm not sure if I'll continue or not, but for now it's just a oneshot. I'll find a way to tell you if I decide to continue in a sequel, or another few chapters or something. Bye!**


	2. Thestrals and Luna

**A/N: This was intended to be a oneshot, but I just got such an awesome response that I had to keep it going. Also, I actually wrote out a basic plotline for this one, so this might actually come together as a decent story!**

**P.S. My description is pretty bad, do you guys have any ideas for it?**

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"God damn it!" Harry finally gave in to his frustration. No matter what he did, the egg just screeched at him. In the past two days after the First Task, he had opened it, hit it, tapped it with different sequences, hit it with a Finite, and filled it with various potion ingredients. He had even used Hermione's suggestion and put it in the fire to see if it would 'hatch', or in this case, do something other than destroy his eardrums.

Okay, he just needed to calm down and think about it rationally. Bagman had said that they needed to figure out the clue. That implied that it was some sort of code or language that could be figured out. If it were some sort of code or language, then it would probably be a magical one, so there had to be some sort of translation method or charm for it. Now he needed was book on magical languages and/or codes.

Harry hurried to the library, but stopped when he saw the notice on the door. It was only about 2:40 P.M., and on a Sunday too, but Madam Pince had closed the library early because two 'squabbling ruffians who didn't respect her books' had decided that the library was a great place for a fight. Brilliant, just brilliant. Now what was he going to do?

"Hello, Harry Potter." A sing song voice said from behind him.

Harry spun around to see a blond Ravenclaw who looked to be in the year below him. "Hello." He said cautiously. "I'm sorry, but I don't seem to recall your name…"

"You've never spoken to me before, but I'm Luna Lovegood." She said in that same voice.

It was at that moment that Harry realized that Luna wasn't wearing shoes. "Um… Where are your-"

"Shoes?" She finished for him. "The nargles took them. I was just going to see the thestrals, would you care to join me?"

Harry filed away the nargles thing as something to look into later, something just didn't feel right about that. Then he thought about her question. "What are thestrals?"

Luna smiled sadly. For a brief moment, Harry saw something other than complacency in her eyes. He saw determination and… sorrow? "You can only see them if you've seen someone die. They're magical creatures, they look a bit like horses made up of bones with bat wings."

Harry's breath hitched. Every year, when he came to school, he always saw giant skeleton horse things pulling the carriages. No one else seemed to notice them, and when he asked an older student what made the carriages go forward, he had been given an odd look and told that it was just magic. But wait, he hadn't seen anyone die, had he? I did see my parents' deaths, I just didn't remember them until last year… With a start he realized that the girl standing in front of him, this Luna, must have seen someone die. "I'm so sorry-" He started.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Luna said firmly, that little spark of determination coming back into her eyes, then leaving as quickly as it came. No, he was wrong. It wasn't determination. It was courage. "Shall we?" She asked, her carefree smile firmly back in place.

Harry smiled. He liked this girl. "We shall." He said warmly, offering her his arm. She took it, and they were off.

* * *

Harry watched as Luna calmly pet the Thestrals. They were a bit skittish around him, so he had opted to sit down and watch from a distance. The Thestrals obviously loved Luna, and it looked like she had spent a lot of time with them. He frowned, her shoes were missing and her best friends were magical creatures. There was definitely something going on that he didn't know about. He would have to look into it.

"Harry?" Luna called softly.

"Yes Luna?" He called back, just as softly.

"You should go visit her." Harry tried to think of who she was talking about when Luna continued. "Your dragon friend from the first task. They aren't going to stay here for much longer, and the dragon keepers will probably want a word with you too." She said with a small smile.

"Will you be okay out here by yourself?" He asked, concern evident in his tone.

"Oh, yes. I come out here all the time by myself."

"That may be true, but I try not to make it a habit to abandon my friends in the forest."

"Friends? We're friends?" Luna asked, obviously surprised.

"Oh, sorry, was I being too forward?"

"Oh, no, not at all. I-I've never had a friend before."

Harry pushed down his rising rage and stood up, enveloping Luna in a hug. "Luna, I will always be your friend." She stood there for a minute without responding, obviously in shock. He knew that it was a bold statement to make, having only just met her, but he could tell that someone, or several someones, had been bullying her. He couldn't stand bullies, and she was just so kind that he couldn't not to be her friend. After another moment's hesitation, she returned his hug.

"Harry," She said playfully, stepping away. "I thought I told you to visit your dragon." He grinned and saluted her as he started walking away. "Harry…" She called once more as he walked off. He turned back to look at her. "Thank you."

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**A/N: Sorry, it's a little short. And I know, you guys are probably thinking 'what the heck?! I thought this would be a Harry/Hermione story!' Don't worry, nothing is definite yet. There are three possible outcomes for pairings in this story.**

**Harry/Hermione/Luna**

**Harry/Luna, Hermione/Viktor (Krum) and Harry is sibling bonded to Hermione**

**Harry/Hermione, Neville/Luna, and Harry is sibling bonded to Luna**

**Review or send me a PM to tell me which pairing you think it should be!**


	3. Dragons and Keepers

**A/N: Hey guys! I cannot believe the response that I got on the last chapter. 63 reviews, 85 followers, and 86 favorites! And so many people have voted for pairings. So far, the tally is:**

**H/H/L: 8 votes **

**H/H, N/L: 15 votes**

**H/L, H/V: 4 votes**

***People who said 'this or this' without expressing any preference over which pairing gave a half a vote to each pairing.**

***VERY IMPORTANT!* It was kind of hard to keep track of all the votes via review, so I set up a poll for the pairings; you can find it on my profile. I'm not certain if I'll count both the poll and the review votes, or just the poll, but please go to that!**

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Harry was so lost in his thoughts that he almost missed the dragons. A loud roar and a "Watch out, kid!" screamed at him was barely enough warning for him to jump out of the way of a massive pillar of flames. He looked up and saw that his would-be attacker was the Chinese Fireball.

Understanding dawned upon him. Of course she would be upset, probably inconsolable even, all of her eggs had been destroyed! He looked away from the distraught dragon with a sigh, the entire Ministry was made of idiots.

"Hey, kid! What are you-" The dragon keeper who had yelled at him stopped when he got a look at his face. "Merlin's balls, you're Harry Potter!" Harry sighed and turned towards the man, a tall, rugged fellow with short brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He prepared himself to deal with the ridiculous hero-worship that seemed to follow him wherever he went. "You were the one who spoke with our Hungarian Horntail, right?"

Harry looked at the man in shock. For once, someone didn't recognize him as the Boy Who Lived. To this man, he was the guy who could speak to dragons. "Uh, yeah?" He managed to stutter out in his shock.

The man just grinned at him. "You're a bit of a legend amongst the dragon keepers. Charlie wouldn't stop talking about you for months after you sent us the Norwegian Ridgeback, especially since you were, what, a Firstie at the time? And then, I swear, he just about died when he saw you up against the Hungarian Horntail."

"Charlie, as in Charlie Weasley?" Harry had to check. He had thought for sure that Ron would have poisoned the rest of his family against him. Apparently not.

"Yep. Oh! Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Fnord. Fnord Haugen." Fnord rolled his eyes. "I know it's a weird name, but Mum wanted to name me Asbjørn. Thank Merlin Dad reigned her in, I mean, can you imagine, a dragon keeper named Asbjørn? The guys would just call me Ass-burn."

Harry snorted. Fnord was very talkative, but kind of funny.

"Oh, hey, there's Charlie now." Fnord spotted a tall redhead that Harry vaguely remembered from that night, 3 years ago. "Oi, Charlie! CHARLIE! Your dragon whisperer is here!"

The dragon keepers within hearing range laughed as they turned to look at them. Grinning, Charlie ran over. "Harry! Long time no see, how've you been?"

"I've been pretty well." Harry said slightly awkwardly.

Apparently, Charlie noticed his discomfort. "What's the matter?"

Harry shifted slightly. "Are you sure you should be talking to me? I mean, Ron won't be happy with you…" Here he trailed off.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Ron has serious jealousy issues. When he was little, every time one of us got something new, he refused to talk to us for weeks. He's always wanted to be the center of attention, so he went completely mental when your name came out of the Goblet. He sent me a letter ranting about how he should be getting everything because he's always been on the side of the light and you were a parseltongue who didn't even know about magic and how it wasn't fair." He rolled his eyes again. "Ron is my brother and I love him, but he is seriously bigoted against anything that doesn't strictly fit into his definition of light. If he knew half the things that Bill and I did, he would try to get Dad to disown us. He just doesn't understand that dark isn't synonymous with evil. The point is, don't worry about him."

Harry smiled. "Thanks."

Charlie grinned right back at him and seemed to be about to say something when the Chinese Fireball started up again.

"Sorry Harry, gotta run!" Fnord called as he and Charlie ran off to deal with the mourning dragon.

Harry continued walking. Soon enough, he found Ignis' enclosure. She was laying on a pile of small, white-hot stones, obviously heated by her fire. Against her side, partially buried in the hot stones, were 5 eggs. "Hello, Parva Corvum,"

Harry jumped. "Hello Ignis. How have you and the eggs been?"

"We've been fine, but I am concerned for Gang Bai."

"Gang Bai… Is that the Chinese Fireball who lost her eggs?"

"Yes. She is so depressed that Aerona, Annika, and I have been considering giving her one of each of our eggs if she does not get better." At Harry's look of confusion, Ignis elaborated. "Nesting mothers are extremely protective of their eggs. While we have our young, they are the only reason we have to live. If one dies, she mourns for weeks. If all of her eggs are destroyed, she often gives up the will to live. If we gave her one of each of our eggs, it might be enough to lift her out of her depression and give her a reason to continue living."

"But wouldn't you get depressed then, instead?"

"No. Our eggs would still be alive and well, so we'd be fine."

Harry shrugged internally. Who was he to question the habits of dragons? "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask why your name is-"

"So different from the others?" Ignis interrupted. Harry nodded. "Many years ago, when a dragon found a human who was worthy, they would often make them a Dragon Friend. Once the Dragon Friend ritual was completed, those humans would take on some of the better traits of a dragon, such as resistance to heat and fire, increased strength, and, very rarely, the ability to fly. Sometimes, a Dragon Friend would be gifted with an egg to raise, and it was customary for them to name the hatchling. My Dragon Friend was a spell crafter, so he was fluent in Latin. He named me after my unusual Emerald Fire."

Harry's eyes widened "You were raised by a human?"

"Yes. Ignotus Peverell." She said wistfully. "You smell of him, very faintly."

Harry took a moment to ingest that new information. "I suppose it might be possible that I am related to him. When was he alive?"

"Hmm," Ignis said thoughtfully. "Well, he was born in 1214 and faked his death in 1291, but he was alive until his mid-270s, so it must have been about 1485."

Harry did a double take. "… that makes you, well, that must make you at least 600 or 700 years old."

"Yes. I'm 793."

"...How long do dragons live?"

"A few thousand years, at least."

"Right." Harry heard a bell sounding in the distance. "Sorry, Ignis, but I've got to go! That's the bell for dinner." Had he really been outside for that long?

"Good night and farewell, Parva Corvum."

**A/N: Sorry the first A/N was so long, but now I have nothing to say in this one, other than Aerona is the Welsh Green, Annika is the Swedish Short Snout, and that you need to GO TO THE POLL AND VOTE!**


	4. Luna's Friends

**A/N: Sorry it's so late! I would have had this chapter to you ages ago, but we went to my Grandparents' farm for Christmas, and they don't have WiFi, so… Anyways, this chapter was really hard to write for some reason, but it's just filler to establish Luna and a little foreshadowing for some ideas bouncing around in my head. Next chapter there'll be some plot development with Dumbledore. **

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Harry winced as he ran toward the castle with fervor, stupid headache! He was hoping to arrive while everyone was still getting seated so that he could sneak in relatively unnoticed. For once, luck was on his side and he managed to arrive in the Great Hall without calling too much attention to himself. He slid into his seat next to Hermione just as Dumbledore finished the announcements.

"...And, I am pleased to inform you that the library has been repaired and will be reopened after dinner." He finished with a flourish. "Now that that is all taken care of, tuck in!"

"Harry?"

Harry mentally did a happy dance.

"Harry?!"

Finally! Now he could find the book he needed on languages and codes!

"HARRY!"

Harry turned to see Hermione looking at him with an amused expression. "Sorry about that, I was a bit distracted."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I was just wondering what you were up to all afternoon, you did disappear for a while."

"Oh! Well, I went to the library and found out that it was closed, but while I was there I ran into a Ravenclaw in the year below us. Her name is Luna Lovegood, and she invited me to see the Thestrals-"

"Thestrals? What are those?"

Harry snickered. Typical Hermione. "Thestrals are magical creatures that you can only see if you've seen someone die. They looked a bit like skeleton horses with giant bat wings. But, as I was saying, something seemed a bit odd while we were there. The thestrals were skittish around me, because they had never seen me before; you know how that is, right?"

Hermione nodded in understanding.

"Well, the thestrals weren't like that with Luna. Actually, a mother with a foal trotted right up to her, and they nuzzled against her. When I asked her about it, she just said that she spent a lot of time with them. Later, as I was leaving to go visit the dragons, I mentioned in passing that I considered her a friend, she teared up and said that she had never had any friends before."

Hermione quickly raised her hand up to dry her eye. "How is that even possible, unless she was bullied…" Then her eyes widened as she processed the first part of his statement. "What do you mean, YOU WENT BACK TO SEE THE DRAGONS!" She yelled in his ear.

"Hermione, I'm fine!" Harry babbled, desperately trying to calm her. "I could speak with them, and they're really quite reasonable. I only had to dodge one pillar of flames!" Harry clamped a hand over his mouth as he realized what he had said.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Harry just stared at Hermione.

"'Mione, I-"

"You have lost the right to speak right now! I cannot believe that you would endanger yourself so carelessly. Don't you have any sense of self-preservation? And you didn't even think about how it might affect everyone else if you got yourself killed! Or that Ravenclaw girl- Luna, how do think she would feel, having her first friend die within hours of meeting him!"

"But Luna's the one who reminded me to go see the dragons; and I promised Ignis that I would visit."

"That's not the point, Harry!" Hermione raised a hand to her eye to brush away a tear. "You're my best friend- I can't stand the thought of losing you!"

"Hermione, it's okay."

Hermione smiled at the confused look on his face. "Boys." She muttered affectionately.

* * *

After dinner, Harry and Hermione started to make their way to the library.

"So I think that it's some sort of magical language or code. I mean, it would make sense." Harry finished.

"Harry… That's brilliant!"

"Why are you so surprised?" Harry asked jokingly "Is it so hard to believe that I might come up with a good idea every once in a while?"

Hermione blushed "Well-" But she was cut off by the sound of cruel laughter in the next corridor.

Harry rushed forward with Hermione close behind only to see a group of Ravenclaws tormenting a young blonde girl. At closer inspection, he recognized some of them. Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecomb, Michael Corner, and Roger Davies were there to name a few. And the girl that they were tormenting, it was Luna!

"Hey Loony, I love your shoes!"

"Invisible is just the latest fashion!"

"Yeah, where'd you get them?"

"She probably borrowed them from one of her invisible creatures."

"Yeah, I bet-"

But whatever Random Ravenclaw #5 was going to say was cut off by Harry. He barged forward and stood between the group of bullies and Luna. "What," He started, his voice filled with cold fury. "Exactly do you think you're doing?"

The Ravenclaws started, and a few of the younger ones backed up, terrified of the expression on Harry's face. The older ones had no such qualms. "It's none of your business, Potter." Davies sneared, "We were just teaching Loony here a lesson."

"Her name is Luna, and actually, it is my business. You see, I tend to make it my business when I see people bullying others, especially when said bullies are bullying my friends."

"Your friends? Don't make me laugh. Loony doesn't have any friends."

Harry's eyes lit up, almost glowing with unbridled fury. "Luna Lovegood is my friend."

Hermione pushed her way through what was left of the group of Ravenclaws. "And if she'll have me, I'll be her friend too."

"Does anyone have a problem with that?" Harry asked, with an arched eyebrow that was eerily reminiscent of a certain potions master that they all knew.

The few Ravenclaws who hadn't run away with their tails between their legs started backing up slowly, some nodding their heads fearfully and some sneering to hide their cowardice.

"Oh, and by the way," Harry called after them. "If I ever see or even hear about any of you bullying again, I will personally come after you and you will be sorry."

Davies managed to pull himself together enough to ask, "Is that a threat, Potter?"

Harry grinned ferally. "No. It's a promise."

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**A/N: And, for the Poll:  
**

**H/Hr/L: 64 votes or 62.1%**

**H/Hr with sibling bond to Luna (L/Neville): 28 votes or 27.2%**

**H/L with sibling bond to Hermione (Hr/Viktor): 11 votes or 10.7%**

**The review tally is at:  
**

**H/Hr/L: 26 votes or 45.6%**

**H/Hr with sibling bond to Luna (L/Neville): 20.5 or 36%**

**H/L with sibling bond to Hermione (Hr/Viktor): 10.5 or 18.4%**

**Combined, the tally is at:  
**

**H/Hr/L: 90 votes or 56.25%**

**H/Hr with sibling bond to Luna (L/Neville): 48.5 votes or 30.3%**

**H/L with sibling bond to Hermione (Hr/Viktor): 21.5 votes or 13.45%**

***VERY IMPORTANT*! I'm not certain whether or not I should count BOTH tallies, because then some people might vote twice, so be sure to vote at the poll! (And it wouldn't hurt to leave a review just to tell me what you think, either!)**


	5. Tom Marvolo Riddle

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in so long, we had performance week for the school musical, then the week after that was auditions for the play (I got the lead role, yay!), and I've been busy with rehearsals. The good news is, I'm going to start updating regularly again starting either later this week or next week, and I ordered a keyboard online for my tablet, so I can type on that instead of this ancient computer! Also, this chapter is a little over 400 words longer than usual, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Although I have a theory that J.K. Rowling secretly writes and publishes fanfictions to correct the mistakes that she made and/or the regrets that she had from the books, I'm not her, so I can't prove it.**

_Italics: Parseltongue_

* * *

Harry knelt down next to the now crying Luna. "Luna, they won't bother you anymore." He said as he awkwardly patted her back in an attempt at comfort.

Hermione had no such qualms. She engulfed Luna in a hug. "Oh, God Luna! Those-those bastards! How could they do this to you?"

Luna gave a watery smile. "People fear what they don't understand, and do what they can to dominate it."

Hermione just hugged Luna tighter. Harry shuffled awkwardly in the background. Sure, he had hugged Luna earlier, but that was a split second decision. Hermione noticed exactly what he was doing and smiled. "Get over here, Harry. You're a part of this too, now."

And after that, nothing was quite the same.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, the new group of friends grew closer and closer, until Harry and Hermione had no qualms about telling Luna of their adventures over the last few years. Luna proved to be an excellent listener, and even offered to have her father do a story about Sirius. They were considering doing it, and the best way to go about it, but that's beside the point.

The trio was rarely, if ever, seen apart. Well, outside of classes, that is. At first, meals were a bit of a problem, but then they worked out a system. Since they were made up of 2 Gryffindors and 1 Ravenclaw, they ate breakfast at Gryffindor, lunch at Ravenclaw, and dinner once again at Gryffindor, except for the feasts, during which they were required to sit at their house tables. Harry and Hermione had wanted to eat every other meal at each table, but Luna had refused, and convinced them to do her system instead, using her clear reasoning to convince them.

The trio was sitting at the Gryffindor table at dinner when, surprisingly enough, Parkinson walked over, with Crabbe and Goyle in tow. Harry hid his surprise at this turn of events and turned to face her. "Oh, it's just you." He said nonchalantly, turning back to his food.

She stuttered in rage about being ignored. "So, Potter," She spat "You finally found someone who's as crazy as you are."

Harry rolled his eyes. Was that really the best she had? He forced himself to calm down at the insult towards Luna and see reason. She was obviously trying to get a rise out of him, and he refused to give her that satisfaction. "Yup." He said simply.

She stumbled for a moment before picking up where she left off. "So you admit it, then. I guess hanging out with the weasel and the mudblood wasn't enough, then. If you're going to be friends with a blood traitor, might as well be a bonkers one as well, isn't that right Potter?"

Okay, that didn't even make any sense. Since she obviously wasn't going to go away on her own, Harry decided that he would nip this in the bud.

"If anyone's a blood traitor in this case, Parkinson, that would be you." He said simply, finally turning towards her.

She gaped at him in disbelief. "What!? I would never dishonor my family by hanging about with the riff raff!"

Harry laughed. Loudly. The few people who hadn't been watching their altercation already were now. Perfect. "You, my dear, are a bloody hypocrite. You are a pureblood, are you not?"

"Yes, of course!" Pansy said proudly.

"Well, almost all the purebloods in England are related in some way. Tell me, did you ever see the name Voldemort-" Gasps of shock broke out. "Oh please, it's just a bloody name! Anyways, have you ever seen the name Voldemort on your family tree? On any of your family trees?"

Pansy, along with several other purebloods, shook her head in confusion. Harry smiled. "Exactly. Now, we've established that it's a fake name, but, we all know that he claimed to be the heir of Slytherin. Well, the only family I know of that is directly descended from Slytherin is the Gaunts."

Harry smirked. Now it was time for his trump card "Tom Marvolo Riddle." He stated, using the charm he had learned from Riddle to spell his name in the air. "A brilliant student; 12 OWLs and 12 NEWTs. Head boy." He smirked, this was where it got fun. "He was the illegitimate son of a rich muggle named Tom Riddle, and a squib named Merope Gaunt." Gasps were heard as some of the students started to put it all together. "Merope fell in love with Tom, and used love potions to get him to 'love' her back. Once she was pregnant with his son, she stopped administering the love potions to him, thinking that he would stay with her for the baby's sake." He smiled grimly. "She was wrong. He left her. She had been disowned by her family for being with a muggle, so she wandered the streets in rags, until she gave birth in an orphanage, only living long enough to name her son." He slowly started to rearrange the letters in the air. Gasps broke out. "'I am Lord Voldemort.'" Harry read aloud. "Voldemort means flight of death in French, by the way." He turned back towards Pansy. "Your family, along with many others, has stood by and cheered this man on as he killed other wizards, and other purebloods; your parents stood by as he killed your family. You allowed him to brand you like cattle, he who is, by your own definition, barely better than a muggleborn. Congratulations, Parkinson." He laughed. "Your family, and by your own deeds supporting him, you are the true definition of a blood traitor."

Parkinson's face was the perfect picture of rage. She stood there, shaking in anger, before bellowing "Serpensortia!"

A snake came out of the end of her wand. It was about 6 feet long, and probably 6 inches in diameter at the head, and 4.5 inches on the rest of its body. The reptile was black with silvery grey spots on its back, and stunning green eyes, eerily similar to Harry's own.

_"Why was I summoned?_" It hissed angrily.

Harry smirked. Was Parkinson really so stupid that she would unleash a snake on the only person in the whole school who could speak parseltongue? _"That girl behind you isn't very smart."_ He remarked.

_"A speaker!"_ The snake hissed in shock. _"I have never met one of your kind who could speak before. Why is she angry with you, anyway?"_

_"She's angry with me for proving her wrong, and called you to attack me."_

_"I can see why you think the wench is unintelligent, if she called me to attack you." _The snake laughed. It then said_. "I am Monty the python. What is your name, hatchling?"_

_"I am Harry Potter."_

After a brief conversation, it was decided that Monty would stay with Harry. After all, the pet list and the one pet limit was just for first years. Besides, snakes were great at catching rats.

After they had escaped the pandemonium in the Great Hall and gone to the library (with Monty wrapped around Harry's shoulders, sleeping), Hermione and Luna pounced on him for information.

"How on earth did you learn all that, Harry?" Hermione demanded.

"Did you plan that speech out in advance?" Luna enquired.

"What did the python say to you?"

"Do you think that the purebloods will believe it and be dissuaded from the dark?"

"Give a guy a moment to think!" Harry interrupted before they could ask any more questions. "And the answers to your questions are: I researched after 2nd year and put it together, yes I had that speech semi-planned, I was just waiting for the right moment to say it, he said his name is Monty and he decided to stay with me, and I hope so."

The girls took a moment to put it all together before they started laughing.

"Only you Harry-" Hermione started.

"Would manage to debunk decades of pureblood beliefs-" Luna continued.

"And get a pet in the process." Hermione finished.

Harry felt a shiver of trepidation go down his spine at the twin speak. What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

The trio was enjoying breakfast at the Gryffindor table the next day when Professor McGonagall walked over, looking slightly unhappy. "Mr. Potter, the Headmaster has requested your presence in his office after breakfast. He also wishes to inform you that he enjoys ice mice."

"Thank you Professor." He said, surprised. What on earth could the old man want with him now?

* * *

**A/N: Yes, I just named the snake Monty Python. I have no regrets. On a less Sirius and more serious note (yes, I just went there), I want to thank you guys for all the awesome support on this story, especially the reviewers who wrote more than just 'H/Hr, H/L, or H/Hr/L please' in their reviews.**

**I love hearing what pairing you guys want, but to me, one review that tells me what you think of the story, your opinion, is worth ten of those vote reviews. Thank you so much to everyone who's read, and especially those who reviewed, and please don't hesitate to R&amp;R again! Also, the pairing is… Harry/Hermione/Luna! A whopping 61% of people voted for them, so it easily won. Harry/Hermione got 26.5% and Harry/Luna got 12.5%, so thanks to everyone who voted!**

**P.S. Here's an omake left by BenRG in a review for last chapter. I'm putting it in because I liked it, so for those of you who don't like omakes... just ignore it.**

"No, Davis, that isn't a threat. It is a statement of fact. For every time Luna is bullied, House Ravenclaw will suffer a retribution ten times worse. Someone slaps her, then I will break an arm. Someone steal her clothes, then I will incinerate a dorm room. Someone actually cause her lasting physical harm, then I will send an Eagle back home in a pine box. Spread the word: No peace for the witch or wizard who harms Luna Lovegood."


	6. Dumbledore

**A/N: I was on a roll on Sunday, and managed to write most of this chapter then, so thank my muse for the week-early update! Anyways, I was going to do this on Sunday, but I kind of, well, forgot… Yeah. This is a shout out to an internet friend of mine, invisibleCheshire. To all you Drarry lovers out there, she's writing a fic called **_**So, I Hear the Malfoys Have a Thing for Gryffindors**_. **It's a good, and very underappreciated fic, so y'all should go check it out (and review, give her lots of reviews :D).**

**Disclaimer: Like I said, I have a theory.**

* * *

Harry was deep in thought as he made his way to Dumbledore's office. What on earth could he be summoning him for? He supposed that it could be about the Tom Riddle thing, but that seemed unlikely. After all, anyone who put any thought into it could figure that one out. It definitely didn't have anything to do with the dragons, it had been about two weeks since he had visited them… Oh! He had been so distracted by his new friend Luna that he had forgotten to visit Ignis lately. Hopefully she wouldn't be too upset with him.

Wait… what if she had already been taken back to the reserve? It was obvious that moving dragons was a long and tedious procedure, if the fact that they had been here at Hogwarts for at least a month before the first task, where anyone could see them and tell a champion about them, was any indication. He resolved to visit Ignis right after he got out of Dumbledore's office, classes be damned!

He was torn out of his thoughts by Dumbledore's gargoyle clearing its throat. He must have been standing there for a while, if the look of impatience and slight amusement on the gargoyle's face had anything to do with it. "Er, lemon drops?" He asked automatically, blinking in confusion when the gargoyle grunted at him. He flushed in embarrassment, he had been so lost in thought that forgot about the not so subtle message. "Ice mice." he stated, relieved when the gargoyle slid aside for him without further resistance.

He walked up the stairs and before he could even knock on the door, Dumbledore called. "Harry, come in, my boy!" He must have placed some sort of charm on the door or the stairs that would tell him who was coming.

"Hello, Professor." Harry said cautiously. He still didn't know why he had been summoned.

"Lemon drop?" The professor asked good naturedly, pushing the bowl towards Harry… wait, was that a glint in his eye? '_Calm down, Potter. You're making Mad Eye Moody look downright careless.'_ He was probably just imagining things.

"You're probably wondering just why I've summoned you here today, Harry." Dumbledore said serenely. '_Right in one, old man.'_ "Well, I was wondering how exactly you stumbled upon that information about Tom?"

Ah, so that was why the old man had called him up here. "Well, sir, Riddle told me his name back in the chamber during 2nd year, and showed me that name trick. I did a little research, and it didn't really take much to put it all together. After all, he was Head Boy, so his records were public. Plus, I live in the muggle world, so it wasn't that hard to find the mysterious murders at Riddle Manor online. It wasn't exactly hard to figure out that they died of the killing curse."

"Online?"

"Yes, you know, the internet? Almost everything is on it now."

"I thought that the computer things that muggles had were just a fad."

"Everyone thought that in the early 90s, but now..."

"Ah, so that's it. Now, that is all well and good my boy, but you must be careful as to how quickly you inform people of this sort of thing." '_Got it,' _Harry thought. '_So you didn't want that information released yet, if at all. I wonder why...'_ Dumbledore cleared his throat, noticing Harry's reverie. "Now, it has also come to my attention that you have been using parseltongue more and more lately, and that you have acquired a pet snake."

Harry's narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Last I checked sir, the pet list is only for firsties, and snakes are allowed."

Dumbledore chuckled, the twinkle in his eye seeming a bit more forced than usual. "Yes, my boy, that is true. However, I am concerned about your use of this dark power. If you continue to cultivate this ability, then you are letting Tom win. You already look quite a bit like Tom did when he was a child, and you speak parseltongue with a pet snake. People may start to see certain… parallels between the two of you."

Harry couldn't believe this. How could Dumbledore say that? He wasn't nearly as stupid or biblio-phobic as he allowed people to believe, and he had done some research on parseltongue as soon as he found out he really had the ability. Parseltongue was a strictly genetic inheritance, and his father had been a pureblood. Like he had said earlier, almost all the pureblood families in Britain were related in some way, so it was actually quite likely that he was somehow related to Slytherin, and had gained the ability through that blood relation. Harry held his tongue though, he would have to play his cards carefully if he wished to get through this without inadvertently making a promise to stop using parseltongue,

"Sir, I was thinking. What if I use parseltongue for good? What it I placed it in a positive light so that people would stop seeing it, and by extension, anyone who can speak it, as evil?"

Dumbledore just laughed at him. Stupid old coot. "My dear boy, public opinion is fickle, and you must not get on the wrong side of it at such a young age. Maybe when you are older…" He trailed off. Harry noted that Dumbledore was not specific as to what he could do when he was older, nor how old older was.

"I understand, sir." He inwardly snorted. Oh, he definitely understood. This was a diversion tactic. The old man was trying to distract him with promises of 'later' and was probably planning to do so for so long that he thought Harry would forget about it. Well, news flash, Dumbles, Harry was not going to fall for that trick again.

"Good, good. Now that we have this matter perfectly clear, you are free to go."

Good god, the man made it sound like he was releasing him from a prison sentence. '_Another tactic to make me feel indebted to him.'_ Harry thought darkly. He had been fooled enough by the Dursleys to be able recognize when someone was using these tactics against him.

As he walked out of the office, he had but one thought. '_I have to speak with Ignis."_

* * *

Harry jogged out to the forest, amazed at the change in scenery. Two weeks ago, it had been a bustling dragon pen, with at least 50 dragon keepers tending to the four dragons. Now there were but two dragons left there, and half the people. Luckily for him, Ignis and the Chinese Fireball, Gang bee or Gandhi or something like that, were the two dragons who had not been returned to the reserve. He hollered a quick hello to Charlie and Fnord before climbing into Ignis' pen. She appeared to be sleeping, so he jumped when she said, "_Ah, good. I was hoping that you would be able to visit again before I left." _

Harry's eyes shifted to look at the Chinese Fireball, who was sleeping peacefully with 3 eggs around her.

"_To answer your question, yes, the other dragons and I each gifted Gang Bai with an egg in order to restore her health. It will take time, but she should make a full recovery."_

Harry smiled in relief. He had been concerned for the poor young mother. "_That's great!" _He paused. "_But I bring news."_

With that, he filled her in on everything that had happened from the Parkinson incident to Dumbledore's not-so-subtle manipulations. When he finished, Ignis was deep in thought. Finally, she spoke. "_Parva Corvum," _She started seriously "_I have been considering this ever since I met you. I am getting old to be a mother, and I had a nest with 5 eggs. The typical amount for a nesting mother is 3, and while I did give one away to poor Gang Bai, 4 will still be difficult for me to raise properly." _She took a deep breath. "_That is why, Harry Potter, Speaker and Champion, if you so choose to accept, I would like to gift you one of my eggs and make you a Dragon Friend."_

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Don't you just love cliffies? Anyways, I hope you liked it, so leave a review! And go to **_**So, I Hear the Malfoys Have a Thing for Gryffindors**_ **and R&amp;R that, too! Please?**

**Also, I have a request to make. If you're an artsy person, I'd love it if you could send in some cover art for this. Maybe a picture of Harry, Hermione, and Luna, or Ignis, or Harry and (hint, hint) something special that's coming next chapter. If anyone could send something in (you might want to wait until next chapter), I'd really appreciate it!**


	7. Draconus Amicus

**A/N: Sorry this is so late, I only just got home because of play practise and registration for school next year. That was both fun and exhausting, but I'm going to join writing club! (And a few others... :D) You guys have been so great in the review department, I can't get even close to giving you guys all the thanks that you deserve. Let's keep it coming ;D!**

* * *

Harry looked at Ignis in shock._ "You want to make me a… Dragon Friend?"_

_"Do you not wish it?"_ Ignis tilted her head at him.

Harry shook his head, panicking. _"No, no, I'd be honored! But… what about the Ministry? They don't allow dragons to be kept as pets."_

_"It would not be the bond of a pet and its owner, but the bond of a Dragon Friend and his familiar. No government can interfere with that bond."_

_"But am I really the best choice?"_

Ignis snorted. _"You speak our language, and could tell my hatchling about his or her heritage. And, in the short time I have known you, you have proved to be respectful and kind, yet protective of those you care about. You are… chivalrous."_

Harry blushed. _"I'm not that great." He mumbled. "I treat others as I would want to be treated, and I love my friends."_

_"That is exactly why I have chosen you. Now come, we must do this quickly."_

Harry stepped forward to be right next to Ignis. _"What do I do?"_

_"You and I will slit our wrists, then we shall place our wounds together."_ At his look of confusion, she amended _"The dragon blood running through your veins will protect you from the burn of my fire. You will pick up the egg that your magic feels a pull towards, and to seal the bond I will bathe you in my flames. After you have been bathed in flame, you will experience some… changes."_

_"Changes? Like what?"_

_"You shall be, in a sense, reborn. Any scars or blemishes upon your body that you do not wish to be there shall be healed, along with any current illnesses."_

Harry's breath caught in his throat. _"Would this fire of yours heal malnutrition?"_

Ignis thought about this for a moment. _"Yes, it should, youngling. I had wondered why you were so small. May I ask as to why you were not given an adequate amount to eat?"_

_"Let's just say… my relatives aren't too fond of me."_

Ignis started quaking with fury as she realized what this statement meant. _"Younglings are precious and few! They should be treasured, not scorned and starved! How DARE they!"_

_"Ignis, please calm down! It's not so bad now that they're scared of what my godfather might do to them."_

_"Humans have Godfathers as well? Good, at least your species is doing _something_ right."_

Harry laughed. _"So, how do we do this ritual?"_

_"Use your powers to create a knife, Parva Corvum, and then slit your wrist with it."_

Harry did as she asked, quickly transfiguring a small and plain blade before slicing open his arm. He winced slightly at the pain, and before he could get dizzy from blood loss, Ignis quickly sliced one of her own wrists with her claw. She held out her wrist, and he laid his arm against hers, watching in fascination as their blood mixed. Then Ignis started chanting in what sounded like Latin. _"Domina Magicae, benedicito puer sicut ego eum tollam amicum."_

Harry watched incredulously as their wounds healed and then he felt it. It was like something was tugging him towards one of the eggs, and the egg that he somehow just knew would be his appeared to be… glowing. He picked up the egg and stumbled, and all he saw before he blacked out was an emerald green pillar of flame rushing toward him.

* * *

Harry groaned as he woke up. Whatever the hell that ritual had done to him, it sure had made him sore.

"He's alive!" He heard shouts of joy and relief sound all around him. Someone pulled him up, but he couldn't see who, it was too blurry. He reached up to check and see if he was wearing his glasses. Shockingly enough, he was. Wait, the ritual was supposed to fix any physical imperfections, so maybe… He reached up on a whim and pulled his glasses off. As he had expected, the world came into view, and he found himself almost nose to nose with Charlie and Fnord.

"Harry, thank God you're okay!" Charlie said, wiping his brow in relief as the other dragon keepers went back to their duties.

"Yeah, if you'd have died, then we'd've had a ton of paperwork. Not to mention the wrath of his mother." Fnord gestured at Charlie.

Charlie paled and shuddered. "You're right. I hadn't even thought about that."

"What were you thinking anyways, letting the dragon roast you like that?"

"Yeah, I thought she was your friend."

Harry grinned at the two mischievously. "Oh yeah, she's definitely my friend." And with that, he tried to stand up. Tried being the keyword. No sooner than he had stood up did he fall over, flat on his face.

Charlie and Fnord gaped at him. No more was he the runty boy they had known. In his place stood a boy of slightly above average height for his age, probably about 5 ft 7 or 8 inches. He wasn't a stick, but he was a young man with muscles that showed that he played Quidditch, yet weren't too overpowering on his slim frame. His skin had lost its pallid complexion, now he was simply the pale color associated with spending too much time inside. After a few weeks outside in the spring, he would have a healthy tan. However, his current milky white skin combined with the lack of glasses worked stunningly well to bring out his deep emerald eyes. His facial features were more pronounced, too, and his nose had become strong yet regal at the same time. Perhaps the most shocking thing was that his lightning bolt scar, the thing that had made him famous, had split open and was bleeding profusely.

As Harry was wiping the blood out of his eyes, two shouts of "Harry!" and "What the bloody fuck?" came out of Charlie and Fnord's mouths at the same time. Harry just grinned. He felt lighter than he could ever remember being. It wasn't just that he was physically better, it was spiritual as well. It almost felt like a weight had been lifted off his soul.

"Don't worry, guys." Harry grinned. "I feel great!"

Fnord rolled his eyes. "Only you, Harry, could get roasted by a dragon and come out, not only alive, but 'feeling great'!"

Charlie snorted. "Are you sure that you aren't hurt? Maybe we should take you down to Madame Pomfrey just in case." Then he noticed the egg. "Harry… Why do you have one of the dragon's eggs? And what happened to it?!"

Harry, who hadn't realized that he was still holding the egg under one arm, held it up to get a better look. The egg didn't look like the other eggs anymore. Instead of being the bland white that the rest of the eggs were, it was a dark silver, with swirling black designs seemingly etched into it. But, somehow Harry knew that the designs were runes, and they were there because of him. "Like I said, Charlie, these dragons are definitely my friends."

Charlie furrowed his brow in confusion as Fnord's eyes widened in shock. "No," He breathed, his arm reaching out almost subconsciously to touch the egg. "My grandfather used to tell us stories, but I didn't think they could actually be true." He said, his intense gaze piercing Harry's own,

"What? Fnord, mate, what are you on about?"

Fnord ignored Charlie and kept searching Harry's eyes with his gaze, as if trying to figure out what had made him worthy to be a Dragon Friend. Finally, he nodded. "Good luck, mate. Do what you have to do." He finally said as he dragged a protesting Charlie away.

Harry turned to Ignis, still grinning. "So, what happens now?

* * *

**A/N: What happens now, indeed, Harry? Hehehe, yet another cliffie. By the way, hardly any of you checked out So, I hear the Malfoys have a thing for Gryffindors *pouts and starts crying dramatically* Cur tu me non amat, Drarry shippers?! Oh, and don't forget to R&amp;R this fanfic, too!**


	8. Guess what's about to hit the Fan!

**A/N: This is mostly just filler until next chapter, when the real action happens. I'm sorry it's a day late, I was trying to figure out a way to lengthen it while keeping the cliffie!**

* * *

Harry turned to Ignis, still grinning. "So, what happens now?"

Ignis rolled her eyes at the youngling standing before her. "Now you continue life as you have been living it… with a few small changes.

"Like?"

"As I said before, you will experience changes. Our blood has fused, so you will likely become completely fire resistant in the near future, that is, if you are not already. All dragons shall recognize you as a friend, and none other than oathbreakers shall attempt to harm you. Your skin will harden against attacks, you will have far superior endurance compared to what you had before, and other than that, I myself am not may be some other effects, or there may not be; every Dragon Friend it is different."

"Got it." Harry said thoughtfully. "So, how do I prevent the ministry from, you know, locking me in Azkaban and doing who knows what with the egg?"

"Merely mention the bond, your ministry's special ones, Unthinkables or something like that, should recognize the bond. And, if they don't, the ragged Keeper with brown fur who is always around the Keeper with red fur should be able to tell them. Oh, and what is this 'Azkabibble' that you speak of?"

Harry inwardly snorted at both her description of Fnord and Charlie and her fails at pronouncing 'Unspeakables' and 'Azkaban'. "I think you mean Unspeakables. Azkaban is the wizarding prison. It's an awful place to be, it's guarded by dementors."

"Dementors?"

Harry wracked his brain for a name that she would know. "When we were learning about them last year, I think my professor mentioned that they were once called Ring Wraiths, or something to that effect."

Ignis gasped. "Ring Wraiths!? Does your ministry not realize that the Wraiths will feed on whoever they can?"

"Yeah," Harry laughed uncomfortably. "I know what you mean. About 100 of them swarmed me and my godfather last year."

Ignis just stared at him for several moments. Finally, she said "You and I are going to have a very long talk later regarding your 'adventures'."

Harry involuntarily shivered and looked around. Ignis had sounded scarily like Hermione for a moment there.

* * *

"Incendio Maxima. Frigida ad Tactum." Harry cast tiredly, yet again. He had been with Ignis for hours as she had forced him to basically give her his entire life story. Then she had forced him to learn the charm to keep the egg at a suitable temperature, and the charm that would allow others to touch the egg without, you know, burning their hands off. Fortunately, the bond allowed him to touch the egg without being burned, but the same could not be said for his friends... or his clothes.

Harry started at the sound of the dinner bell ringing in the distance. 'Saved by the bell.' He thought wryly as he picked up the egg and stood up. "Ignis." He called softly to the now sleeping dragon.

Said dragon lazily opened one eye at him. "What?"

"It's dinner time. I've got to go."

"Alright, but remember how to handle your ministry."

"Don't worry, I will. I'll try to come back tomorrow or next week."

Ignis merely grunted in reply as she went back to sleep. Harry just smiled and shook his head as he walked towards the castle.

* * *

Harry went over everything he had to do in his head as he was walking. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice he was at the doors to the Great Hall until the yelling and laughter alerted him to his surroundings.

He took a deep breath to compose himself and started when he realized that the egg was... humming? No, it wasn't humming exactly, it was more like it was giving off a warm and soothing, almost comforting feeling. Harry blinked in shock as he realized that the egg must have recognized his anxiety and was doing its best to quell it. He smiled down at the egg in appreciation, and somehow knew that it understood. "Well, little one," He said simply, "I guess this is it." And with that, he pushed open the doors.

* * *

**A/N: Again, I'm sorry this is so short, I was trying to figure out a way to lengthen it yesterday when I realized that the next chapter will be long enough to make up the difference! Please don't forget to R&amp;R!**


	9. Butterbeer Caps and Voices

**A/N: Whoo! This chapter is 50% longer than average! You guys are so sweet, your reviews are the things that keep me going. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: They taught us in Kindergarten that sharing is caring. I'm just letting J.K. Rowling know that I care.**

* * *

"Well, little one," He said simply, "I guess this is it." And with that, he pushed open the doors...

...and then he jumped back and let the doors swing back closed. 'What the hell am I doing?' He thought to himself as he turned to go back to the dorms. 'Why on Earth would I go in there with the egg? That'll just cause a whole boatload of problems way sooner than necessary! I can just leave the egg in the dorm or something until it hatches. I wonder why Ignis never thought of that...'

He nodded as he continued walking up the stairs. That would be perfect. Unfortunately, Harry was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice he had come upon the trick step. His foot sank down into the staircase and he was thrown off balance. He valiantly fought to regain his balance, only to tumble backwards, right back down the stairs.

Harry groaned as he sat up and did a quick assessment. There were some scrapes and bruises here and there, but he would live. Wait... the egg! Had it survived the drop? He quickly stood up, frantically looking around for the egg, only to realize that he was still holding it. 'That's strange,' He furrowed his brow, 'I could have sworn that I had let go...'

Harry's eyes widened as he realized why Ignis hadn't told him to drop the egg off somewhere out of sight. Just to make sure, he raised the egg up into the air and let go. Nothing. The egg was still there, hanging off his hand like a magnet. 'So that's why... Well, at least I don't have to worry about dropping it.' He thought dryly to himself as he turned back towards the Great Hall.

Fortunately for him, or perhaps not so fortunately, he was late enough that Dumbledore's announcements were finished and dinner had already started. He opened the doors and snuck towards the Gryffindor table as inconspicuously as he could, but, seeing that he was the famous Boy-Who-Lived-To-Have-A-Hyphenated-Nickname-And-Be-Selected-By-The-Goblet-Of-Fire, it wasn't very inconspicuous at all.

At least half of Gryffindor and a good chunk of Hufflepuff were all staring at him and the egg. He shot them a half-smile as he sat between Hermione and Luna, hoping against hope that they would miraculously find something else to occupy them. He had no such luck. He looked around the entire hall to assess the damage when he noticed that Malfoy was getting up to leave with a rather smug look on his face.

"Harry!" Hermione hissed, trying (and failing) to act like nothing was up. "What is that?" Her eyes widened. "Is is the golden egg? Did Ignis help you figure out the clue?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Luna did it for him. "No." She said calmly. "It's quite obvious, really. Our Harry here has undergone the Dragon Friend ritual, a long forgotten honor that there hasn't been a known case of since Ignotus Peverell, who Harry just happens to be descended from. That's his bonded egg, soon to be familiar, which means that he shared blood with the mother of that egg, presumably Ignis. Now the ministry is going to attempt to take away the egg, but won't be able to because of yet another long forgotten law that the Unspeakables will remind them of. Does that answer your questions Hermione?"

"What?!" Hermione gaped.

"Luna," Harry stuttered in astonishment, "How... How did you know all that?"

Luna blinked and tilted her head innocently. "Oh, was I not supposed to know? I'm sorry Harry, I honestly thought that it wasn't that big a deal. Am I also not supposed to know that you have a very unique birthmark shaped like an otter fishing from the crescent moon on your-"

"I think that that's enough Luna!" Harry butted in quickly, before Luna could tell everyone about the adorable little birthmark he had on his... well, never mind.

Hermione had long since started having a miniature breakdown, which included, but was not limited to, hugging her knees, rocking back and forth, and muttering random things under her breath such as "My cabbages!", "Become one with mother Russia!", and perhaps most disturbingly, "There is something really funky about the back of his head!"

Harry just shook his head and turned to Luna incredulously. "You, Luna Selene Lovegood, are the most strangely well-informed person I have ever met."

"Thank you, Harry James Potter. May I enquire as to why we are using full names?"

"It's for emphasis because... you know what? Never mind. I think you broke Hermione."

Luna took a moment to examine the still rocking girl before calmly walking up to her, taking off her butterbeer-cap necklace, and placing it around the poor girl's neck.

To everyone in the immediate vicinity's astonishment, Hermione stopped rocking at once and blinked a few times before getting up, dusting herself off, and slowly walking back to her seat. "I'm sorry, guys." She said, obviously still a bit confused, "I'm not sure what came over me. Luna, is there some sort of enchantment on this?" She asked as she fingered the necklace.

Luna tilted her head. "No, silly! Some of the main ingredients in Butterbeer have cheering effects, and I made the string that those are laced through with lemongrass and bits of chamomile. Then I dipped in in boiling nutmeg water to bind everything together. The cheering, mind clearing, and calming effects are great for keeping the wrackspurts away."

Hermione's eyes widened. "So, with all the different 'ingredients' of that necklace mixed together, it has the effects of both cheering and calming potions?"

"Yes, but you can't overdose or get addicted." Luna replied.

"Luna, that's brilliant!" Harry chimed in. "Do you think you could make me one?"

Luna blinked. "I knew that there was something that I had forgotten!" She reached into her bag and pulled out two more necklaces that were almost identical to the one that Hermione was wearing. "Here's yours, Harry, and Hermione can just keep the one she has on."

Hermione suddenly turned to Harry, glaring at the sheepishly grinning boy. "What exactly did she mean, you underwent an old ritual and the ministry's going to come after you."

"Umm... Exactly what you just said?"

"Harry James-" Hermione started, but before she could start her lecture on not rushing into things half-cocked, and telling people when he was going to engage in life altering rituals, she was interrupted by Albus Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," The 'grandfatherly' old man started with a smile and that famous damned twinkle of his. "Harry, my boy, may I enquire as to what that is? I know for a fact that that is not the golden egg from the task."

Before Harry could come up with a suitably snarky response, Luna spoke for him. "Oh, hello Headmaster! Are you absolutely certain that there's no infestation of wrackspurts in your office? I could have sworn that I'd seen them."

"Oh no, my dear girl, the wrackspurts haven't bothered me since I defeated the dark wizard Grindelwald." Harry noted that Dumbledore was attempting to 'remind' him that he was the 'leader of the light' and all should follow him and trust whatever he did and all that nonsense. Harry had just opened his mouth to attempt to respond, when, for the second time that evening, he was interrupted before he could even begin.

The doors of the Great Hall burst open and 5 people walked in. Harry had no idea who the first three were; one was a distinguished looking woman who wore a monocle and bore a very faint resemblance to one of the Hufflepuffs in his year. He could tell that the other two were aurors, but they had to be the most bizarre pair that he had ever seen. One was a tall, tall man with very short hair and skin the color of plain coffee beans, and the other was a young girl, no, woman, who had bright pink hair with flashing green and yellow polka dots. The last two Harry recognized quite easily, after all, one had tried to kill him and the other had tried quite hard to get into Harry's good graces.

Lucius Malfoy and Cornelius Fudge were looking quite smug as they scanned the Great Hall, their eyes lighting up like all their Christmases had come at once. "There he is!" The minister said happily in the most pompous voice he could muster. "Aurors, arrest him!"

Dumbledore strode up to the not-so-dynamic duo. "Arrest who, Cornelius?"

Hermione stood up angrily. "And on what grounds!?"

Lucius Malfoy spoke, a smirk on his face. "For the illegal possession of a dragon's egg, we have a warrant for the arrest of one Harry James Potter."

"No, you actually don't." Said a relaxed voice from behind them.

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**A/N: Yes, I know, another cliffie. But hey, spiked brownies to anyone who figures out who the voice is. _Hint:_ You all know _him_. You should all review because... umm... it helps me write faster! Yeah, that's it...**


	10. Unspeakable

**A/N: Sorry this is 9 days late, life's just been hectic and I lost my plot outline. Also, internet cookies/spiked brownies to Ebenbild for guessing who the voice was. But anyway, enough with the excuses and spiked brownies; to the story!**

**Disclaimer: J.K. Rowliing admirare est**

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Harry smirked as Fnord leaned against the wall, looking as if he hadn't a care in the world.

Fudge started blustering "Now see here young man, I am the Minister of Magic and-"

"And you have absolutely no authority to arrest Harry here." He nodded at the aforementioned boy.

"He has a dragon egg!" The Minister almost yelled.

"You're the minister, but you don't know what that means?" He gestured at the egg. "That is not just a dragon egg, that's the sign of an egg bonded with a Dragon Friend."

A few students and almost all of the teachers in the hall gasped. "Ah, I see that at least a few of you are aware of the old ways." He looked at the minister pointedly. "I called the Unspeakables; I figured that they could do a better job of explaining than I ever could."

"You did what?" The short minister looked like he had blown a top. "The Unspeakables aren't to be summoned for such trivial matters as-"

"Then why are you here?" Harry broke in. "If this is such a trivial manner, then why did a member of the Wizengamot, 3 aurors, and the Minister of Magic come personally?"

"I, umm..."

"I was there when the anonymous letter informing us arrived, and was curious to see what would happen." Malfoy senior cut in, saving the minister from certain embarrassment. "Cornelius, being the good friend he is, decided to accompany me. The extra aurors are here to protect him, after all, he is the Minister."

Harry raised an eyebrow. He had to admit it, Malfoy was pretty smooth. But Fnord was one step ahead of him. "So it's true." A tall man that somehow nobody had seen appeared right in front of Harry. The stranger was wearing black robes with a hood covering his face, and when he spoke his voice had an odd lilt to it that seemed strangely familiar. "I would have thought it a prank, if it weren't for the rarity of the situation. Hmm..." He seemed to be lost in thought as he gazed at Harry. Finally, he nodded to himself, seeming to have judged him worthy. "Please send us word when the egg hatches. It has been centuries since a Draconus Amicus' familiar was born, it would make for an excellent information gathering opportunity."

Lucius Malfoy was angry. "What are you doing? You, as an Unspeakable, should know that it's illegal to possess a dragon egg off of a reserve."

You could almost hear the Unspeakable's eyebrows raising as he spoke. "And you, as a Lord, should know that absolutely nothing can interfere with the bond of a Dragon Friend. Magic herself couldn't intervene; I only came here to request an invitation to the hatching."

Lucius realized that this was not going to end well for him, so he wisely turned to Fudge and they, with as much dignity as they could, apologized for the 'misunderstanding' and took their leave.

The Unspeakable chuckled as the not-so-dynamic duo left. "Well, that was fun!" He said happily, his ominous demeanor from before dissipating entirely. "Thank you Mr. Potter; I've been wanting to do that for a long time." He glanced at his watch. "Oh dear, if I don't get going, it'll be late, and they won't like that at all. Goodbye everyone!" He called as he disappeared.

Harry stared in wide eyed amazement. "Hermione, did he just...?"

"Yes."

"But I thought-"

"That apparition was impossible in Hogwarts?"

"Yeah."

"So did I."

"The Unspeakables are quite good at what they do." Luna interjected calmly, stealing some crisps from Harry's plate as she did so. "You shouldn't be surprised by anything they do."

"You sound like you've dealt with them before." Hermione said suspiciously as she glanced at the spot where the man had disappeared.

Luna smiled brightly. "I'll tell you everything when the purple eyed ploopies are gone." harry and Hermione nodded. They had figured out long ago that Luna used some of her creatures, such as nargles, wrackspurts, and ploopies, to inform them what kind of people were around them. It was a gift of hers. Nargles were bullies, wrackspurts were corrupted people, and ploopies were eavesdroppers.

Dumbledore finally seemed to snap out of his shock, and he turned back to Harry. "Harry my boy, I thought that you were going to stop using Parseltongue."

Harry inwardly snorted. 'Seriously, old man?' Out loud he said. "Honestly, sir? It's just a language, and I never told anyone that I would stop using it."

Dumbledore looked at him, fake disappointment and grandfatherly 'concern' filling his eyes. "Harry, I-"

Suddenly, inspiration struck. "I'm sorry sir, but why do you call me Harry? You're my teacher, so you should be calling me Mr. Potter. Also, I don't see why it's any of your business if I decide to speak another language, so, if that's all..."

If you looked carefully, you could see a spark of anger flashing in Dumbledore's eyes. "Harry-"

"Mr. Potter. As I was saying, if that is all then I will take my leave." Harry rose from his seat, Luna and Hermione close behind him.

As soon as the doors from the Great Hall swung shut behind them, Harry, not even thinking about what he was doing, grabbed Hermione and Luna's hands and dragged them to an unused classroom. The second that Hermione had finished casting silencing charms to ensure their privacy, Harry exploded. "I can't believe that I just did that! Now Dumbles knows for sure that I'm not the docile little golden Gryffindor that he thought I was, and everyone is probably finding out right know about the bond!"

"Harry, it's okay." Luna soothed, an odd... lilt to her voice, like always.

Harry started. That sounded suspiciously like... "Hey Luna," He asked carefully, "Do you, by any chance, know the Unspeakable who was speaking with us earlier.

Luna blinked and tilted her head innocently. "Oh, him? That was just my father."

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**A/N: Bwahahahaha! Now that I'm done cackling, please R&amp;R!**


	11. Surprise!

**A/N: Hey everyone. I'm sorry that I've been updating every other Thursday for the last few weeks, but last week was show week for the play, so it was hectic. Luckily (or not :D) I was sick today, so I had plenty of time to write, _and_ it's Easter, so lots of extra time to write this weekend! I would have had this chapter out earlier today, but my keyboard started acting up, so...**

**Disclaimer: We've already gone over this.**

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Harry nearly fell over in shock. "That was your father?!"

Luna blinked as she pulled on her spectraspecs. "Yes. I'm actually quite surprised that you managed to surmise that we knew each other. Tell me, how did you do it?"

"It was the voice. You both have the same distinct lilt; only someone who's heard you speak a lot would be able to pick it up, but that's kind of beside the point right now!"

"Wait a moment." Hermione said slowly. "But I thought that your father was a journalist."

Luna smiled and nodded. "Yes, I've told you both about how he owns the Quibbler."

"Umm... isn't that a little counterproductive to being an Unspeakable?"

"Think about it." Luna said evenly, a mischievous grin settling on her face.

"That's the beauty of it!" Harry exclaimed after a moment's silence. "No one would ever expect a journalist to be an Unspeakable, that's why it works!"

"Exactly!" Luna said, maybe a little smugly.

"But how on Earth does he print an entire magazine every week while working for the ministry?" Hermione asked.

"And why did you tell us all of this? Isn't it all supposed to be a huge secret?"

"That's how he prints an entire magazine every week with only a little outside help." Luna said simply. "The Quibbler is a way of informing like-minded people."

Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "So it's a code! The Quibbler is just a giant secret message!"

Luna clapped her hands with joy. "Yes! That's it exactly!"

"So why did you tell us?"

"The Department of Mysteries is thinking about recruiting all of us."

"What?!"

Luna nodded. "It's fairly obvious. I have seer blood and my father is an Unspeakable, Hermione is quite possibly the brightest witch since Rowena Ravenclaw, and Harry has beaten the Dark Lord all three times that he's been up against him. The Unspeakables wouldn't be very good at their jobs if they weren't watching us. You can come out now Maria!"

Harry and Hermione gaped as a woman materialized in front of them, seemingly out of thin air. She was relatively short and was wearing the same style robe as Mr. Lovegood. 'Maria' pulled back her hood to reveal a heart-shaped face framed with gentle brown curls down just past her chin. Her eyes were big and brown, and her face had a gentle air about it.

"I still can't figure out how you do that, Luna." She laughed. "Every time someone hands in a report on you, the higher ups go mad trying to figure out how you manage to call us out, by name, every stinking time."

"Tell them that they'll find out when they decide to get over their pride and hire someone below the age of 25."

Maria rolled her eyes and pulled out a notepad. "So, how long have you known that I was there?"

"You arrived to relieve Wally of his duties precisely 27 minutes and 4 seconds ago."

Maria checked her watch. "Damn, kid, that's pretty exact."

"Um... Hi?" Harry half said, half asked.

"Oh, right! Hi there, I'm Maria. I would tell you my last name, but I'm on duty, and I kind of can't."

The two fourth years nodded their heads mutely at this latest shock. "Wait, do you have people watching us all the time?" Harry asked in alarm.

Luna shook her head and spoke before Maria got a chance. "No. They always have someone stationed at Hogwarts to monitor the students, and that person is supposed to keep extra careful watch on students who show some sort of potential, AKA, us."

Maria looked at Luna in amazement. "I swear, if your father hadn't taken a vow of silence..." She muttered in disbelief.

Luna smiled sweetly at the woman. "By the way, that's quite a sneaky tactic, using polyjuice to make yourself look different so that you could lower your hood and try to make us trust you more. I'm impressed."

Maria paled dramatically. "How-"

Luna just winked cheekily. "It's a secret. Byeeeee!" And then the startled woman disappeared.

Harry and Hermione continued to gape at Luna. Really, it was quite impressive that they hadn't passed out after all of those shocks coming one after another. "How?!" Harry finally managed to stutter.

Luna pointed at her face. "Spectraspecs. They're very similar to Professor Not-Moody's fake eye. I can see through enchantments, polyjuice, and such with them."

"Luna, do you think it would be possible to cast the charms on those spectraspecs on the human eye?" Hermione enquired.

"Oh no, that would probably cause the person whom had gotten enchanted to go blind." Both of the fourth years deflated. "But," Luna said thoughtfully. "If we modified the charms somewhat, we could probably cast them on our necklaces and get the same effects. Except for the ability to see real nargles. That's exclusive to real spectraspecs." She added firmly.

"Wait," Harry said slowly. "What do you mean, Professor Not-Moody?"

"Oh, did I forget to tell you? There is a young man pretending to be Professor Moody."

"But why?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe the real Moody is undercover somewhere, and this is his replacement." Harry said hopefully.

"No," Hermione protested. "Dumbledore would never do that." Her eyes widened. "Harry!"

"Ouch, Hermione! There's no need to shout, I'm standing right here."

"No, no. That's why he's here. He's after Harry!"

Harry blinked. "What?" He stuttered in disbelief.

"Think about it!" Hermione said excitedly. "Every year the DADA Professor attempts to kill or maim Harry, so why would this year be any different?"

"You have to admit." Luna said thoughtfully. "She has a point."

"Not you too!" Harry groaned. "Well, if you two insist that Professor Moo- er, Professor Not-Moody is out to kill me, then how to we prove it?"

"And more importantly," Hermione added seriously. "How do we stop it?"

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**A/N: Bwahahahaha. I never new how fun cliffhangers are until I started writing! Please don't forget to review!**


	12. Planning

**A/N: Hey guys, long time so no see. I'm sorry I haven't updated in like 2 months, but it just wouldn't come. I rewrote this chapter 8 times and I'm still not happy with it. Because I am a terrible person, I was going to wait until tomorrow to update this, to keep with the Thursday review pattern, but it's my birthday and the one year anniversary of this Fic, so I figured I'd update today instead. Enjoy!**

**You also may have noticed the new coverart. Red Furry Demon made that for this Fanfic, so this chapter goes to RFD!**

**Disclaimer: I'm tired and it's like 7 in the morning. Just read one from another chapter or something.**

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_"And more importantly," Hermione added seriously. "How do we stop it?"_

"Hermione," Harry said, resignation clear in his tone "I don't think we _can_ stop it."

"Harry!" Hermione said, completely shocked. "How can you say that?"

Harry just sighed and tried to push up his nonexistant glasses before he realized that they weren't there anymore. Really it was shocking how almost no one had commented on his 'new look'. "Hermione, we're just students; no one would listen to us. Remember the incident with McGonagall and the Sorceror's Stone in 1st year? And how about last year, in the Shrieking Shack with Snape? None of the teachers actually listen to the students, and if we confronted the imposter, the best scenario we could hope for would be the imposter only trying to obliviate us like Lockhart."

"Harry's right." Luna interjected.

Hermione gaped. "Doesn't it bother either of you at all that this person _kidnapped_ Professor Moody?!"

"Of course it bothers us. But, Hermione, we can't just go rushing into this without a plan like a stereotypical Gryffindor." Luna said somewhat reasonably.

"Hey!" Harry yelped indignantly. "I resent that."

"No, you represent that, but that's a whole other matter." Luna managed to giggle slightly, despite the tense atmosphere. "The point is, this man has been fooling everyone in the entire castle all year, making them think that he's the actual Moody. There's no way that he's going to slip up on his own." She said, waiting for Harry and Hermione to reach the same conclusion as her.

Hermione slowly nodded. "So, what you're saying is that we have to trick him into messing up."

"But how?" Harry asked simply. "It's not like we can just expose him without evidence, even if the professors were to listen to us."

"And when? If we wait too long, he might kill the real Professor Moody!" Hermione said in horror.

"No, we don't have to worry about that." Luna said firmly. "There are only a few ways to transform into another person, and they all require something from the person that you're imitating, which means that Moody has to be alive."

"But what is he using that works so well and doesn't arouse any suspicion...?"

"Polyjuice!" Harry exclaimed. "The imposter is using Polyjuice Potion. It would make sense, wouldn't it? I mean, he's always drinking something out of his hip flask."

"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed. "That really would make sense, but we've got to make sure before we do anything drastic."

"Tomorrow night at dinner we'll watch him." Luna said simply. "Every time he drinks from his flask, we'll mark down the time on a sheet of parchment. If he ever goes longer than an hour, we'll know that it's not polyjuice, and if there is a correlation between the times that he drinks, we'll know for sure that it is."

"In the meantime, I'll start researching Polyjuice antidotes. Maybe we'll get lucky and there will be a spell to do that. But if that were the case, would the spell need something from the person who's transformed into Professor Moody to ground it? No, it-"

"Hermione!" Harry shouted.

The girl in question blinked. "Yes?"

"You were rambling."

Hermione blushed. Earlier that year she'd asked Harry to tell her when she started rambling on about something or other. She knew that it wasn't always exactly a good trait to have, especially when trying to make friends, but still, this was important! "I was just thinking about the practicalities of the spell! If there is one, that is..." She defended herself. "After all, who knows who it could be? It could be another Death Eater who escaped from Azkaban!"

"Hey!" Harry yelped indignantly on Sirius' behalf. "Sirius was not a Death Eater."

Hermione sighed impatiently. "I know that, Harry! But if he could get out, doesn't it stand to reason that another inmate could have escaped too?"

"If they had, it would have been in the papers."

"Not necessarily," Luna interjected. "What if they don't know he escaped? What if he faked his death?"

"But he would need outside help for that." Harry protested. "And who would help someone escape from Azkaban?"

"Maybe another Death Eater?" Luna asked thoughtfully.

"No," Hermione protested. "That would be too suspicious on their part. A Death Eater goes to visit his buddy for the first time in 13 years, and then the inmate just drops dead? That's entirely too transparent."

"Then who would care enough to break him out of prison?" Luna asked, trying to solve this new mystery.

"Of course!" Harry exclaimed. "It would have to be his family! After all, to most wizards family is the most important thing."

"And it wouldn't be suspicious at all, would it? His family would have likely visited him many times over the years, him 'dying' after one of their visits wouldn't cause people to react in the slightest. Actually, his family would be even more inclined to visit him if he were supposedly ill!" Hermione exclaimed triumphantly.

"But who is it?" Luna questioned simply.

"Hey Luna," Harry said suddenly. "If you knew who the Unspeakable from earlier was, then how-"

"Don't I know who the fake Professor is?" Luna sighed deeply, weariness settling into her bones. "The sight chooses what it wants to reveal, and can only show so much."

Harry just sighed and nodded. "I know Luna, you've told us before. I was just hoping that once, just once, life would be easy and we could be normal for a while." He looked up with a sad smile. "But this is us we're talking about." His smile turned defiant. "But hey, I guess that Potters just don't do normal!"

"Normal is boring." Luna and Hermione quipped at the exact same time. They looked at each other with wide eyes and burst out laughing. Harry couldn't help but join in. As he laughed with his best friends, he couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe this wouldn't be so bad. He smiled. They would pull through, they always had.

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**A/N: I know I've been a jerk, but please review! Please?**


	13. To the Library!

**A/N: Hi guys... I know, it's been two months and you probably hate me and have forgotten about this story entirely by now, but I've finally pulled my head out of the sand and taken responsibility. I suppose you guys deserve a reason for the abandonment, so here it is: For the last 7 months, I've been having major writer's block when it comes to fanfiction because I've been toying with the idea of an original story. I finally sat down to write it, and for the past two months that has been my life. I haven't told anyone about it because I'm still working on it, but I just havent been able to even look at fanfiction- but I haven't been idle. The word count totals at about 60,000 for my little book. I don't know if I'll do anything with it, or ever let anyone else read it, but that's what I've been doing. Again guys, I'm so sorry about abandoning you, but I'm going to try to keep writing this from now on.**

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Harry, Hermione, and Luna exited the empty classroom just as dinner was ending. Over the noise of the horde of students, a voice called out to them. "Harry, oi, HARRY!" The aforementioned young man turned his head and saw Fnord fighting his way through the crowd to get to him. The rugged man walked up to them with a sheepish smile on his face. "Hey, uh, Harry, before you go up, I just wanted to let you know that I mighthaveplacedaglamourcharmonyou." He said the last bit so fast that Harry barely caught it.

"What?" He exclaimed. "Why would you do that?!"

"You looked really different after you emerged from the ritual flames- I put the glamour on you because I figured that you'd be dealing with enough staring once the egg was spotted."

Harry sighed and pinched his nose. "Thanks, Fnord, but please don't ever do something like that to me again without asking first. If I had noticed I probably would have hexed you first and asked questions later. And trust me, you do not want to end up puking slugs."

Fnord laughed and clapped him on the back. "I'd expect no less, especially from you, Harry. G'night!" He called out cheerily as he left them.

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?" Harry called after him jokingly. Still grinning, he turned back to his female counterparts. The grin disappeared from his face when he saw Hermione's expression.

"So, Mr. Potter, care to explain what he meant by you 'emerging from ritual flames'?"

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A half an hour later, after explanations and forgiveness had been given to those who needed it, the trio went to their favorite hangout, namely, the library. All three of them were still searching for references to screech-like languages. They had discussed it in depth and come to the conclusion that it was probably a magical creature speaking, but they still couldn't discern what kind of creature.

Surprisingly enough, it had been Hermione who had given in to frustration first. She shut her book with a huff and practically growled. "Why can't we find a reference to this? For goodness' sake, this is a library, why isn't there any sort of search tool, or book of contents to help students find what they need?"

Harry blinked at her in shock. "That's actually a very good point, why isn't there something like that? After all, this is a magic school, there should be a way for students to find what they need much more quickly."

"And it's been this way for the entire time we've been at Hogwarts! The main reason that completing assignments takes so long is we can't find the proper search materials.

It was then that Luna decided to put in her two cents. "While that is a legitimate point, why don't we just ask Madam Pince?"

"This library is far too extensive for one librarian to manage, and students are always moving things around, putting them in the wrong places and making it even harder for us to find proper reference materials." Hermione huffed, looking indignant at the fact that people were doing such things to books.

Harry's eyes widened and he slammed his hand down on the table. "Accio!" Hermione and Luna just stared at him. "That's what we've been missing- that's how we can locate things."

"Of course, how could we have been so oblivious?" Hermione asked in shock at the simple solution.

"Well, you see Hermione, we've all been very preoccupied and-"

"That was a rhetorical question, Luna."

"So?"

"That means you aren't supposed to answer."

"Well, that's very silly. Why ask a question if you don't want an answer?"

"Never mind that, let's summon the book, shall we?" Harry interjected, amused at the girls' antics. When he recieved two nods, he continued. "Alright, then. Should I just say accio, er, all references to languages?" He asked.

"No," Hermione said thoughtfully, "That's too vague. Try 'Accio one good magical language reference'."

Harry repeated the words just as she had said them, and a book came zooming towards them... without slowing down.

"Luna, look out!" Hermione cried as the book came flying at her. She pushed the younger girl out of the way, knocking both of them to the ground in the process. "Are you all right?" Hermione asked from on top of the blonde, completely oblivious to the compromising position she had fallen into.

"Quite, thank you." Luna responded primly, completely ignoring the fact that Hermione was practically straddling her.

Harry, who had been successfully imitating a tomato for the last minute or so, tore his eyes away from the sight. "Hermione?" He muttered.

"Yes- oh!" Hermione's eyes widened as she realized what it looked like she was doing. She scrambled off of Luna's lap and hurriedly held out a hand to help the slightly squished girl up. "Sorry about that," She muttered, blushing.

"Oh, that's perfectly alright. Thank you for saving me." Luna smiled dreamily and pecked Hermione on the cheek. Hermione proceeded to blush even harder.

It was at that moment that Madam Pince chose to arrive. "What was that commotion about? Were you practicing magic in this library?" She glared at them, practically bristling.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm so sorry Madam Pince! We were studying for the second task when I tripped over my chair as I was sitting down and I fell on Luna."

Pince's eyes softened ever so slightly as she looked at one of her favorite students. "Very well, Miss Granger. I trust that this will not happen again?" She said sternly as she raised her eyebrows.

"Yes ma'am." The teenagers chorused.

"Good." The strict librarian nodded. "Now clean up this mess!" She commanded as she strode away. The three teens were quick to do as she instructed, and within 5 minutes the table and its' surrounding area showed no trace of the spilt ink bottles and crumpled parchment that had decorated it after Hermione's bout of gracefulness.

Harry cleared his throat, still blushing slightly."Um, so, we have the book now, maybe we should...?"

"Oh, yeah, um, sounds good." Hermione stuttered as she recalled the cause of the whole mess.

Luna looked between her friends and smiled thoughtfully. Oh yes, this would work quite nicely.

**A/N: So, what do you think? You should review and tell me...**


	14. How am I supposed to Breathe Underwater?

**A/N: Haha! I bet you weren't expecting another update so quickly, what with my absence for the past two months! I'm going to put this story as a top priority for the next month or so before school starts, so you can probably expect 2, maybe even 3 updates a week. Oh, and for next chapter, I'd just like to clarify that I made the announcement of the Yule Ball a week later than it is in cannon so that the trio would have more time to bond. I'm actually really looking forward to the Yule Ball, though. I know exactly what I'm going to do *smirks deviously* Bwahaha! Onward to the new chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I forgot to do a disclaimer last chapter, so here it is. In cannon, Voldemort isn't a drag queen and Lucius Malfoy isn't his/her pimp. 'Nuff said.**

**P.S. This chapter is over 50% longer than usual; aren't you proud?!**

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Harry, Hermione, and Luna made their way to the Gryffindor common room without any troubles. Luna had become such a constant presence there that when all three of them went through the portrait hole, there was hardly so much as a glance spared in their direction from the student body. The trio sat down in some armchairs by the fire and got to work. Of course, by 'getting to work', it meant that Hermione started to speed read the book that they had found on languages while the other two settled down to do homework; only the occasional question interrupting the comfortable silence.

About an hour had passed in this fashion before Hermione found what they had been searching for for all those weeks. "Here it is!" She exclaimed happily. "Mermish is a very beautiful language when heard in its natural habitat; underwater. When heard on land, however, it sounds like loud, high pitched screeching to the human ear."

"So... I have to take the egg underwater and listen to it? Then what?"

"Well, that depends on what the egg says." Luna said reasonably. "They did say that it was supposed to be a clue as to what the third task is. Maybe you have to fight mermaids this time?"

"No, I don't think so." Hermione said thoughtfully. "I mean, they had the champions fight a dragon last time, that would be too predictable. He probably will have to retrieve something, though. Almost every task that we've read about from previous tournaments had something that the champions had to retrieve."

"So... what?" Harry asked no one in particular. "Am I just supposed to steal something from the merpeople?"

"Well, in any case, we need to decode that egg." Hermione said briskly as she got up. "What are you waiting for?" She asked when she saw that neither of her friends were following suit. "Let's go."

"Umm... Hermione?" Harry ventured, "There are no baths in the boys dorm, and even if there were, there's no way that the other guys would let you into our bathroom."

Hermione began to pinken slightly as she realized what it sounded like she was going to do. She sat back down with a small sigh. "Now what?"

"Well, we can't very well go down to the lake. It's the middle of November, and it's getting dark." Luna said simply.

"We could fill up one of the sinks and open the egg in there." Harry suggested.

"The sinks aren't big enough to fit the egg, let alone the egg when open and a human head." Hermione said defeatedly.

Luna sighed. "We can't go down to the lake, either. It would attract too much attention to go swimming in November, and that might alert the other champions as to what the egg's clue might be."

"We need a swimming pool, or at least a large bath." Harry said simply.

"But where are we going to find a-" Hermione's eyes widened as she abruptly cut off. "I'll be right back!" She called out to them already climbing up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

* * *

Hermione came bounding down the stairs a few minutes later with a smile on her face and an old piece of parchment in her hands. "I just spoke with Fred and George; they said that the map has the Prefects' bathrooms and their current passwords on it!"

"And that's relevant because..." Harry prodded.

"Oh, Harry, don't you see? The Prefects' bathrooms have huge bathtubs in them, in fact, you could even call them small pools!"

"How did you know that?" Luna asked.

Hermione smiled. "Professor McGonagall took me aside earlier this year to speak with me about being Prefect next year. She said that since I was a shoo-in for the Gryffindor girls' Prefect, I should know some of the responsibilities and privileges that came with it."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Harry asked, a look of hurt confusion prominent on his face.

"She asked me not to."

"Does she do that for everyone who is to be a Prefect?" Luna asked curiously.

"Well, that's actually part of the reason she wanted me not to tell you." Hermione admitted sheepishly. "She said that she only did that when it was certain that someone was going to become Prefect. She didn't want me to tell you because she was still deciding who the boys' Prefect would be. She said that it was really between Neville and, well, _you_, Harry."

Harry blinked. "Me?"

"Yeah. She said that she knew that both of you would be impartial and fair, but she was torn because she didn't know if Neville would be confident enough to do the job properly, and you get into so much trouble every year." Hermione giggled. "When I pointed out that I was there along with you every time that that happened, she muttered under her breath 'Well, Mr. Potter is a trouble magnet. You get dragged along for the ride.' I really don't think she meant for me to hear that." Luna had started giggling along with Hermione, and both of them were full out laughing by the end of it.

Harry just looked at them, torn between acting indignant and joining in on the laughter. He internally shrugged and joined them. After all, it was kind of true.

* * *

The next day was a Thursday, and, luckily enough, all three of them had a free block before lunch. They all met up outside the Prefects' bathroom and Harry spoke the password. "Pinefresh." He said to the fourth door to the left of the statue of Boris the Bewildered. The door swung open and as the three students walked in, their jaws dropped open in shock.

"This place is bloody huge!" Harry exclaimed.

Hermione didn't even scold him for his language because of how true that statement was. The bathroom, if it even could be called that, had a row of gleaming, sparkling, gold toilets on one side, each with their own massive stall. The toilets were adjacent to a row of sinks made of the same faux gold material. The room's dominating feature, however, was a small swimming pool in the center of the room. It was sunk into the ground, with steps leading down to the bottom. Surrounding the entire goliath were what had to be at least a hundred taps, each with a different jewel on the faucet.

"Why is this place a student bathroom? Why does this place even exist?" Hermione gaped at her surroundings, totally at a loss.

"I have no idea!" Luna said cheerfully as she began to strip.

Harry did a double take before turning around and covering his eyes. "Luna!" he called out in shock.

"Harry!" Luna called back.

Hermione turned from the ridiculously opulent pool to face her friends, then promptly did a face palm. "Harry, it's okay. Luna is already wearing her bathing suit under her clothes."

"Oh." The red faced boy turned back around. "Well then, um, I'll just go change." He mumbled as he made his way over to the oversized bathroom stalls. Hermione proceeded to do the same. When the two students emerged, they saw Luna standing in the already half full tub, with all of the taps letting out different kinds of water. Some were bubbly, others bright colored, still others with different scents, there was even one tap that was letting out water with rose petals!

Hermione walked down the steps into the pool while Harry set the golden egg on the tub's edge. He cast several Ennervate spells on his clothing, along with a warming charm for good measure, before he carefully wrapped the real dragon egg in them. He had discovered, completely by accident, that the dragon egg didn't cling to him, it clung to his magic. That meant that if he put his magic on another object, he could, for a certain amount of time, take the egg of off his person. This discovery had been extremely helpful when Harry had to shower and change. He preferred to use Ennervate spells because they were almost entirely pure magic energy, so he could go longer without the egg without draining his core as much. As soon as the egg was secure, he hopped into the already full tub, and they proceeded to get to work.

"Are you ready?" He asked his companions. They each nodded, took a deep breath, and submerged. Harry quickly opened the egg, and, instead of the screeching noises that they had heard before, a mesmerizing mezzo soprano serenaded them.

_Come seek us where our voices sound_

_We cannot sing above the ground_

_And while you're searching, ponder this_

_We've taken what you'll sorely miss_

_An hour long you'll have to look_

_To recover what we took_

_But past an hour, the prospect's black_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back  
_

"Well," Harry said, "That was ominous."

"Very much so." Luna agreed.

"I get what they mean in most of it," Hermione said with a frown. "You have an hour to get something back from the merpeople, but what would be worth going to all that trouble to get?"

"Uh, Hermione?" Harry asked, "I think the more important question is _how the bloody hell am I going to breathe underwater for an hour?!"_

* * *

**A/N: You should all leave lots and lots of reviews; they inspire me and make the plot bunnies inside my mind multiply... like rabbits... Huh, that did not work like I thought it would.**


	15. Dancing Dilemmas

**A/N:Hey guys! Sorry about how late this is, I've been trying to post it since Monday, but we just got a new internet router and it won't let anyone connect. I ended up having to dictate this new chapter to my phone and using cellular data to even get this up! This chapter is mostly filler, and the Yule Ball will probably be in either next chapter or the one after that. Speaking of which, hopefully the next chapter will be up by Monday, but it'll depend on the internet... Oh well, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: This is getting redundant.**

* * *

After drying off from their bath, the three friends walked down to the Great Hall for lunch, deep in discussion over what to do about Harry's 'breathing problem'. As they were walking, Harry suddenly did a face palm. "Oh no."

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"I can't swim!"

"Well that's easy enough to fix." Luna said happily. "We'll teach you! We can use the Prefect's Bathroom for lessons."

"Why didn't you tell us that wh

ile we were in the bathroom?" Hermione asked in exasperation. "We could have started practicing then!"

"Sorry, Mione, Luna, I only just thought of it." Harry grinned sheepishly.

"It's perfectly alright." Luna said serenely.

Hermione sighed in mock annoyance before grinning right back at him. "Okay, but make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Yes, sir!" Harry saluted her before hightailing it to the Great Hall.

"Why, you!" Hermione gave chase.

Luna tilted her head as she looked after her strange friends. After a moment, her lips twitched and she joined in on the chase.

* * *

After eating lunch at the Ravenclaw table, Harry and Hermione bid Luna goodbye and headed off to Transfiguration class, where they were in for a bit of a surprise.

It was the end of the class period, and the bell was due to ring any minute when McGonagall cleared her throat for their attention. "I have an announcement for you all. Due to the Triwizard Tournament being held at Hogwarts this year, there will be a Yule Ball as well. The Yule Ball is a traditional part of the Tournament and shall be held on Christmas Day, starting at 8:00 and ending at midnight. Your dress robes are to be worn, as it is a formal event. It will be open to students 4th year and above, but you may ask a younger student if you wish. Now, this is an opportunity for us all to, er, let our hair down." She said as Lavender Brown giggled.

McGonagall's gaze honed in on her. "However, this is _not_ to be seen as an excuse to lower our behavioral standards. I expect each and every one of you to behave in a manner that will do the school proud. I will be _extremely_ displeased if I hear of anyone doing otherwise."

The bell rang and excited chatter rose up as people packed away their supplies and gossiped about the ball. Just as Harry and Hermione were getting up to leave, McGonagall spoke again. "Mr. Potter- a word, please."

"I'll wait outside." Hermione whispered as she left the room.

Harry turned to his teacher. "Yes Professor?"

"Potter, it's traditional for the Champions and their partners-"

"Partners?" Harry interrupted.

"Yes, dance partners." McGonagall said while looking at him suspiciously, as if she thought he was messing with her. After ascertaining that he wasn't, she continued. "As I was saying, it's a traditional part of the ball for the champions and their partners to open the ball."

"Open the ball- you mean dancing?" Harry said incredulously. "Professor, I don't dance!"

"Well, Mr. Potter, I recommend that you learn." She said sharply before her eyes softened minutely. "Relax, Potter, there will be dance lessons held on alternating Thursday and Tuesday evenings for the next month or so until the ball. You'll have plenty of time to learn."

"Thanks?" Harry said, though it came out as more of a question than a statement. He bade the Professor farewell and exited the classroom only to come across Hermione.

"What was that all about?" She asked him, noticing his distressed state.

Harry sighed. "I'll tell you and Luna at dinner."

* * *

During dinner, Harry told the girls what McGonagall had told him about the dance. "... So basically, I'm required to go with a date and open the ball when I don't even know how to dance!"

"Harry, why don't you take Luna?" Hermione suggested thoughtfully. Harry and Luna started. "I mean, it's open to fourth-year and above, so this way we can all go."

"Erm... Okay," Harry said uncertainly as he turned to Luna. "Luna, will you go to the dance with me? As– as friends, I mean." He stammered.

"i'd love to." Luna smiled at him as she blushed slightly.

"Thanks guys-you're lifesavers!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and stuck her nose in the air, as if she were pretending to be a snob. "In exchange for my brilliant idea, you, Mr. Potter, owe me a dance." She said in her most posh voice. They all started snickering, and that was that.

After dinner was finished, the new and improved golden trio made their way to the library, only to find it full… of girls. There were girls giggling at almost every table, and it didn't take long to see why. There, in the middle of the Hogwarts library, was Viktor Krum, sitting alone and pouring over a pile of books that was on par with Hermione's while she was researching the first task.

"Oh, for goodness' sake!" Hermione said in frustration a few minutes later, when they had failed to find any tables that were devoid of the strange creatures known as 'fangirls' that were masquerading as humans. "They've taken over the entire library!"

"It's okay, Hermione, we can come back later when it's not so crowded and-" Harry tried to placate her, but was interrupted.

"No, this is a library, we have as much a right to be here as anyone else." Hermione said firmly as she marched up to the only table with any space…

… Which just happened to be the one that Viktor Krum was sitting at. A hush fell over the room as Hermione walked up to the world famous Quidditch star. "Excuse me." She said simply. Krum looked up, mild surprise showing in his expression. Either no one had had the guts to talk to him, or he wasn't expecting someone that wasn't a bundle of nerves. Either way, Harry supposed it didn't really matter. He snapped out of his musings and back into reality when Hermione continued to speak. "May we sit here? For some odd reason, the rest of the library seems to be occupied." She stated dryly, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Krum snorted in amusement at her dry humor. "Go ahead. I do not mind having company vhen I study. I only ask that you do not 'giggle' at me. There seems to be an epidemic."

"I doubt that will be a problem." Hermione said with a smile and as she sat down, Harry and Luna following suit. The trio could practically feel the envious glares coming at them from all sides. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, and that's Luna Lovegood, and that's-"

"Harry Potter. I know vho you are. You are a Seeker as well, yes?"

Harry lit up and Hermione and Luna rolled their eyes at each other as the two got into an avid Quidditch discussion. Well, at least they did until Hermione spotted the titles of some of the books that Viktor was reading. "Oh, you've read '_Hogwarts A History'_ and '_Advanced Arithmancy: Practical Uses and Theory'_?"

"Ooh, and '_Drummer's Call_' by A. N. Tares?" Luna piped in excitedly, and the debate turned towards intellectual matters. Harry surprised himself by being able to keep up with, and even participate as they discussed different authors, theories, and spells. It seems that all that extra time in the library had paid off after all.

* * *

**A/N: Like I said, mostly filler, but there are a few key things that will come up later on that stemmed from this chapter. I hope you liked it!**

**P.S. Don't forget to review!**


	16. Neville is a Genius!

**A/N: I know, I know, it's been almost three weeks since I updated, but like I mentioned earlier, the internet at our house hasn't been working. We finally figured out the problem, though! Our modem was completely shot, so we got a new one. Also, I was gone, without wifi, for 5 days, because I was helping my oldest sister get her apartment set up in Oklahoma for Grad school- which is 15 hours of driving there, and 15 hours back. But hey, I'm back! And, this chapter is twice as long as a normal chapter. Several of you have been asking me to increase the chapter lengths, so I'm going to try this length from now on. Also, there will be two more chapters up by Thursday (the first most likely on Sunday night, or Monday morning) to make up for the lack of updates the past few weeks, and then we'll be back to the regular Thursday update schedule! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If Harry was abused at home his entire life and no one did anything about it, I don't want to own the Harry Potter series.**

* * *

Two and a half weeks after the library incident, Harry, Hermione, and Luna sat down with Viktor at what was quickly becoming their regular table. The three of them had continued to sit with Viktor on a daily basis, and already a strong friendship was forming. Harry had discovered that, while Viktor loved Quidditch and was proud of what he did for a living, he had come to resent the fame just as much as Harry did. The two boys had quickly bonded over that fact, but the girls hadn't been excluded. No, as soon as Hermione and Luna had discovered that Viktor had brains behind the brawn, their conversations had become strange meldings of Quidditch, schoolwork, and fantasy novels that somehow transitioned seamlessly from one thing to another.

Of course, it did help that Viktor had a spectacularly dry sense of humor- well, when he could find the English words, that is. He found present tense the easiest, so while his grammar was near perfect, he would often put his thoughts out in a stilted manner that made many people think he wasn't all that bright, when really, he was trying to communicate in a language that he didn't have to use all that often.

Upon realizing this, Hermione had immediately taken it as a challenge for all three of them to learn Bulgarian, so Viktor had started teaching them little phrases and sentence structure while laughing at their pronunciation. Surprisingly enough, Harry had proven to have a bit of a knack for conjugation. He found grasping the word structure fairly easy, and it was only a matter of learning words for him. It was the complete opposite for Hermione and Luna, though. They found memorizing vocabulary to be extraordinarily easy, but conjugating verbs and such to be the biggest barrier in their pursuit of being bilingual. This had not daunted Hermione in the slightest, she had even made a lesson plan for them, which included two hours every night full of memorizing at least 30 of the more commonly used Bulgarian words along with reading, writing, and speaking practice with them. With Hermione's insane schedule, and Viktor's help in extra practice, they were making incredible progress. They all knew over 500 words and were able to make extremely limited conversation, which was, according to Viktor, simply amazing.

Of course, the trio hadn't been idle in their research, either. When they weren't occupied with school work, Bulgarian, swimming lessons, or, in Harry's case, countless invitations to go to the ball with almost strangers, they were searching through the library, looking for references to spells for breathing underwater. So far they had found the Bubblehead Charm, which wasn't to be taught until 6th year and was a constant drain on magical power, a spell that would stop a small child from being fully submerged for more than 15 seconds, an asthma spell for clearing airways, and a spell for vanishing water from drowning victims' lungs.

When they were researching for the tasks, Viktor and the trio had agreed not to exchange information, not because they didn't trust each other or want to help, but they didn't want to be accused of cheating, so they kept their meager findings to themselves.

Three hours of fruitless research later, a very discouraged group of students parted ways, each heading to their respective common room, or, in Viktor's case, ship. Harry bade Hermione good night before climbing up the stairs to the boys dorm, and setting his things down with a sigh. He flopped onto his bead and groaned. Why couldn't anything ever end up being easy for him? Just once, Harry wanted something to actually work out so that he could focus on normal teenage things, like Quidditch, grades, or girls. He blushed as an image of two girls he knew very well in swimsuits came to mind. He shook his head to rid himself of the admittedly lovely image, and sighed again.

Neville looked up from a book a couple beds over. "You alright there, mate?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Neville. It's just," Harry paused as he tried to think of an appropriate word. "It's bloody frustrating, really. We finally figured out the clue, but now we can't find any spells that can do what we need!"

Neville took on a thoughtful look as he pondered his friend's dilemma. "Well, maybe you're looking in the wrong place? What if what you need isn't a spell? It could be a potion, or a part of a magical creature, or even a plant! Plants can do almost everything, you know- they can heal and protect and-" Neville broke off with a blush as he saw Harry gaping at him and looked down. "Sorry, I-I get a little carried away with plants and-"

"No, Neville, that's bloody brilliant! We're looking in the wrong place!" Harry jumped off the bed and started pacing, earlier weariness forgotten. "We'll expand our research to potions, and transfigurations, and plants, too! Neville you're a genius!" The aforementioned boy turned as red as a tomato at the complement. Harry suddenly stopped his pacing and turned towards him. "Neville, could you keep an eye out for any plants that could help with breathing underwater?"

Neville's eyes widened as he jumped off his bed and started rummaging through his trunk. "I have a book all about underwater plants! Professor Moody lent it to me during tea after the Unforgivables demonstration. I haven't finished reading it yet, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out for anything that might work!"

Harry thanked Neville profusely, causing the poor boy to blush and stammer even more. As Harry continued getting ready for bed, a thought struck him. Neville had said that it was Moody who had given him the book, hadn't he? Harry frowned. Moody had given him a hint for the first task, and then he had just happened to have given his dormmate a book that could quite possibly have the solution to breathing underwater? That, combined with the fact that he wasn't actually Alastor Moody, was more than a little suspicious.

He decided that he would bring it up with the girls in the morning. As for now, he was exhausted.

* * *

The next morning as they were eating breakfast, Harry brought up what Neville had said about Moo- er,fake Moody.

Hermione paused in thought, her fork suspended halfway from her plate to her mouth. "That _does_ seem a little suspicious, doesn't it? A mysterious man in disguise, whom we still haven't been able to watch long enough to distinguish any drinking patterns, is indirectly giving Harry all the answers to help him win the Triwizard Tournament."

"Or to help me survive!" Harry said excitedly. "Maybe he was put undercover by someone to make sure that I'm not killed! Or maybe to find whoever did put my name in!"

Hermione turned to Luna. "Has the Professor been Not-Moody all year, or did he only appear after Harry's name was drawn?"

"He's been here all year. Which would mean that for Harry's theory to be correct, he, or whomever placed him here, would have had to know that someone was going to put Harry's name in the Goblet."

"And if that is the case, why didn't he just stop Harry's name from being put in the Goblet?" Hermione theorized.

"You know, it doesn't always have to be a sinister plot against me," Harry said in frustration. "Maybe the real Moody is undercover on a mission somewhere and this guy is covering for him, and he just so happens to like me or want a Hogwarts win or something." Harry said defensively. "Either way, if he's helping, then who am I to complain?"

"Harry," Luna said ruefully, "After all we've been through, we can't afford to make assumptions."

Harry sighed and rubbed his face. "I know, but still..."

"Yeah, it would be nice to be normal, wouldn't it?" Hermione sighed mournfully.

"But Potters don't do normal." Luna quoted what they had said the other night with a small grin.

Harry smiled tightly at her. "Thanks Luna," He said affectionately. It was good to have real friends.

* * *

After dinner that evening, Harry began to make his way to the library, but was, surprisingly enough, stopped by Hermione. "You, Mister, are not going to the library until later."

Harry was completely bewildered. _Hermione_ was telling him not to go to the library? "Wh-what? Why not?"

"You don't know how to dance, and McGonagall is giving dancing lessons tonight. You and Luna need to go and get some practice in."

"But what about you? Don't you need to learn, too?"

"I know how to dance. I'll be in the library doing homework and looking for books on potions and plants." And in the blink of an eye, the bushy haired girl was gone, leaving Harry and Luna at the table.

"Are you excited, Harry?" Luna asked teasingly.

Harry rolled his eyes. "What do you think? I have two left feet- actually, you should be afraid, you might lose all of your toes by the end of the night."

"I'm sure that there's nothing your feet can do that Madam Pomphrey won't be able to set right. Besides, if you're truly terrible, I'll wear steel-toed boots to the dance!" The blonde girl giggled lightly.

Harry couldn't help but join her in laughter at the image that popped into his head of her, in extremely fancy and delicate dress robes, tromping around with thick, heavy work boots. "You might start a new fashion trend."

"Merlin knows they'd be more comfortable than those torture devices that we're forced to wear in order to be 'stylish'. Guys should have to wear heels, too!"

"Sorry, Luna, I don't think that I have the legs to pull that off." Harry said with a completely straight face.

"No, your legs are perfect for wearing heals. There's nothing like a pair of fishnet stockings with hair sticking out to make a guy look pretty." Luna replied with an equally straight face.

Then their faces cracked into grins and they snickered quietly. "My fair lady, wouldst thou doith me the favor of a dance or ten?" Harry asked, holding out his arm chivalrously.

"I wouldst, good sir." Luna replied, taking his arm as they walked out of the hall together.

_Meanwhile, at the library..._

Hermione sat down at their usual table, which was, for once, empty of anyone but her. She pulled out her quill and made a quick outline for the first draft of her potions essay before she pulled out her book and began making notes of things that could be added in for length and comprehension. She became so engrossed in her work that she didn't notice Viktor sitting down next to her.

"Herm-own-ninny?" Hermione jumped in surprise.

"Viktor, don't sneak up on me like that?" The aforementioned young man merely raised a bushy eyebrow at her. She grinned sheepishly. "So how long have you been sitting there waiting for me to notice?"

"Around Fife minutes, gife or take." The Bulgarian grinned down at her and laughed. "You are being, how do you say, too deep in working to be noticing anything else?"

"Yeah, I suppose you could say that." Hermione shrugged with a smile. "I was actually just working on my Potions essay; it's so fascinating how different ingrediants react to one another!"

"Yes, I am loffing Potions as vell. They are one of my favorite things in school." Hermione lit up at this information. Soon they were deep in a debate reguarding phoenix tears versus willingly given unicorn blood.

"But phoenix tears are strong enough to completely nullify basilisk venom."

"Yes, but villingly giffen unicorn blood is not only keeping you alife, it is giffing you a blessing for life."

"Phoenix tears completely heal the wound, though, whereas unicorn blood doesn't heal immediately, it puts you in a comatose state and heals you gradually over time."

"The blessing is vorth it. It can only be giffen to those who are being pure off heart."

"It's the same with phoenix tears!"

Eventually they came to the conclusion that phoenix tears were better for healing during battle because you could get back on your feet right away, while willingly given unicorn blood was better for the long run because all creature would know that you'd been blessed, and treat you as a part of the forest.

A comfortable silence settled over them once the debate was over, only interrupted by the occasional page turning or the scratching of a quill. Suddenly, Viktor stopped what he was doing. "Herm-own-ninny?"

"Yes?"

"Vill you go to the ball vith me?"

* * *

**A/N: Aren't I evil? Is Viktor interested in Hermione romantically, or is he just sick of the fangirls? Review and tell me what you think should happen! :D**


	17. Dance Lessons and Things

**A/N: Here we go, another one of those new-fangled double length chapters. I know I said that this would be posted this morning, but hey, at least I'm only a few hours late! And this would have been posted about an hour earlier, but my dogs (they're my profile picture- the tan one is Tucker and the black and white one is Bogey) escaped because the crazy wind we've been having lately blew the gates open, so I had to chase them down. I'm actually not entirely happy with this chapter, the middle was hard to write, and it still feels a bit choppy to me, but I don't think it's too bad. But hey, the end just sort of flowed, and I'm pretty happy with that part. The next update will be on Wednesday (hopefully), and then we'll be back to every Thursday because school is starting. I don't know if I'll have a chapter up this Thursday as well, because that's my first day of high school, but there will definitely be one up next Thursday as well.**

**Dedication: I don't do dedications very often, but this chapter goes to lotusalchemist. She's offered to do a fan art for this fic, so as soon as it's up I'll post a link in my profile and tell you guys in an AN. Thank you so much, lotusalchemist!**

**Disclaimer: :/ No. I still don't own Harry Potter. Actually, I'm sick of disclaimers, this is the last one. Just go back and read some of the other disclaimers if you have any doubts.**

* * *

_Suddenly, Viktor stopped what he was doing. "Herm-own-ninny?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Vill you go to the ball vith me?"_

"I-Wh-What?" Hermione spluttered in shock. She regained her composure as quickly as she could, and asked a question of her own. "Wh-what do you mean by that, Viktor?"

Viktor furrowed his brow in thought. "I am meaning that I am alvays being surrounded by the, ah, fangirls, and I am being required to haff a dance partner."

Hermione sighed inwardly in relief. "So, you want to go as friends then?"

Viktor nodded. "Yes, that is what I am meaning. I am having, ah, a girlfriend back at Durmstrang. Natasha vas turning 17 on November 2, so she is just barely not being here for the Tournament."

Hermione smiled at him. It was good to know that the Bulgarian had someone back home, plus, it could have turned really awkward if he had meant it romantically, seeing as Hermione was beginning to suspect that she had a crush on someone else. She banished those thoughts from her mind and focussed on the topic at hand. "I would love to be your dance partner for the evening."

Viktor slumped back in his chair in relief. "Thank you! I am not knowing vhat I vould be doing if you vere saying no."

Hermione laughed at him. "You would have been fine, I promise. We'd have helped you to find someone who wouldn't just ogle you all evening." She grinned evilly. "So, what color dress robes are you wearing?"

* * *

In the meantime, Harry and Luna were having some rather, er, _interesting_ dance lessons. At the beginning, Harry and Luna had been struggling to muffle their laughter at Ron having to dance with McGonagall, but when the time had come for them to dance, the light mood dissipated immediately. Harry had been so nervous that, even while staring at his feet and counting under his breath, he managed to step on Luna's toes multiple times. Eventually, with some help from Luna, Harry managed to start to get the hang of it.

"Harry." Luna said softly.

Harry didn't look up from his feet. "Yeah?" He muttered.

"You're supposed to look at your partner when you dance. I'm up here."

Harry glanced up at her. "Sorry, I just really don't want to mess up again."

"Don't worry, you're doing fine. Just relax, look at me, and let the music take you away to another place. Personally, I like to imagine that I'm skipping around in a flowery meadow with a crumple horned snorkack or twelve to start with. Then, once I'm relaxed, it's not so hard."

Harry thought about this for a moment. Where would he be happiest? The first thing that came to mind was what he had seen in the Mirror of Erised. He frowned; that wasn't quite right, something was... missing. He mentally added Hermione and Luna to the image, and moved everyone to the Hogwarts Great Hall. Perfect. He imagined them all talking and laughing, and everybody welcoming each other with open arms. When he opened his eyes, Luna was smiling at him, and he realized that he was still dancing, quite well actually.

"Luna, that was brilliant! Where on earth did you learn that trick?"

Luna grinned mischievously. "I just made it up on the spot."

Harry gaped at her. "You're kidding!"

"Nope. I figured that something like that would help to relax you, and when you're relaxed, Harry, you tend to do things much more smoothly."

Harry threw his head back and laughed. "Never change, Luna, never change!"

* * *

Draco huffed as he closed his books. Doing all of his homework had done nothing to distract him. He still couldn't stop thinking about what the letter his father had sent him meant.

_Dear Draco,_

_While your attempt to incarcerate Potter was inspired, you must learn to think these things through. I have lost much standing in the Ministry due to the display at Hogwarts, so listen to me well. You are not to antagonize Harry Potter. Leave him alone, do not pick fights, and ignore him. I have done some research regarding the known Draconus Amicae, and their power has always been great, both magically and politically. The best thing that you can hope to do is keep your head down and make connections that will help us to ride out the future waves that these events will surely cause._

_Your mother sends her love, and remember what I said in all your future interactions with Potter._

_Your father,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

He had informed Crabbe and Goyle that their services as his bodyguards was no longer needed. After all, they were of no use to him now, and they had been ordered by their fathers to antagonize Potter as much as possible in case of the event that the Dark Lord came back. Pansy had been ordered the same, so he had informed her that they were no longer associating and would need a new figurehead for the Potter 'scheme'.

Draco actually wasn't all that upset about finally being able to rid himself of them, all they did was fawn over him in hopes of forging political connections in the future. No, the real reason he was so torn was that his entire life in Slytherin had changed. He was now firmly neutral, so he had to be more careful about the affiliations of those he called his allies than ever before. It could get quite exhausting to have to be so careful all the time. On the other hand, it could be immensely rewarding. This could be his chance to restore the Malfoy name to its previous illustriousness! He smirked, never let it be said that a Malfoy had shrunk from a challenge.

* * *

Ron scowled as he stomped up the stairs into the dorm. Stupid dance lessons. Stupid McGonagall. Stupid twins for making him go. Why hadn't Harry come to- "Ouch!" He yelped as a sudden burst of pain ripped through his head. He sat down on his bed heavily. What had he been thinking about? He couldn't quite remember. His brain felt all fuzzy, like he couldn't concentrate. What was going on? Another pain went through his skull. "Ack!" He shouted. His head was pounding as though someone were hitting him with a baseball bat. He laid down on his bed with a groan until the pain faded away. He frowned as his mind cleared slightly; the pains were getting more frequent. Ever since the end of second year, he had been getting really weird migraines. What was it that Madame Pomphrey had told him when he asked about it? Oh yeah, Dumbledore! He was supposed to go to Dumbledore every time the pains got really intense. He got up and started to make his way to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore would sort it out, he always did.

* * *

Neville was minding his own business and reading the herbology book that Professor Moody had given him, when, all of a sudden, Ron came stomping in. Neville watched in fascination over the top of his eyes as his dorm mate stomped in, proceeded to yell ouch, sit down, look visibly confused, yell ack, and then run off._ 'I wonder what's up with him.'_ Neville thought. He shrugged and turned back to his book. Who was he to judge?

He hummed to himself under his breath as he turned a page. The book was so thick that, even after almost a month of reading, he was still not even halfway done with the Gs. His breath caught in his throat as he read the next entry.

_Gillyweed, also known as _Respirare sub aqua,_ is a magical plant that grows in both salt and freshwater. It is closely related to seaweed, and generally looks, smells, tastes, and feels extraordinarily similar to it. It is primarily used to aid in breathing underwater, as consuming it has the effect of allowing the person who ate it to grow gills, webbed hands and feet, and a greenish tinge to the skin. Gillyweed is commonly found in temperate climates, such as..._

Neville slammed the book shut, slammed it in his bag, and ran.

Harry and Luna had just met up with Hermione and Viktor in the library when Neville came running in like a crazy person. "Harry!" He gasped as he hit their table, using it to help him stop. "I- found- book- plant." He gasped out between breaths.

"Neville, calm down! What's the matter?" Hermione asked as everyone else looked on in stunned silence.

"I found it! It's Gill- er," He paused as he noticed the audience that they were receiving. "Er, maybe I should tell you somewhere more, um, private."

"Okay?" Harry said, though it came out as more of a question.

Neville started to blush profusely. "Well, er, I guess I'll-I'll just tell you what I found in the d-dorm later." He mumbled as he started to turn away.

"Where are you going?" Luna's voice rang out curiously.

"Er, back to the dorm, I guess." Neville said nervously.

"Stay."

"Wh-what?"

"Stay here. You already came all the way down here, and you have your books in your bag, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Surely we're not that bad company?" Harry said, catching on to what Luna was doing.

"Well, no, but-"

"Come on. Ve do not bite- Vell, not very hard, that is." Viktor chimed in with a grin.

Neville looked stunned that Viktor was even talking to him. "Umm, well, okay." Neville said awkwardly as he sat down in the open chair next to Hermione. He opened his book bag and began to silently work on his Potions Essay while the others continued talking freely.

This continued for five minutes before Hermione turned to Neville. "So Neville, who are you going with to the Yule Ball?"

"Wh-what?"

"I asked who you were going with to the Yule Ball."

"I, well, I- I asked Ginny Weasley and she said yes." He mumbled, glancing at Harry as though he were afraid of something.

"That's great Neville!" Harry enthused, not bothered in the slightest by the looks that Neville was giving him.

"You- you aren't mad?" He asked the other boy timidly.

"Not at all- why would I be mad?"

"Well, y-you and Ron aren't talking, so I thought that maybe..."

"Don't be silly, Neville. I try not to judge people based on things that their family did. I'd be a bloody hypocrite if I did that."

"Thank goodness! I was really scared of telling you that." Neville started to relax... until he realized what Harry had said. "What do you mean? Your parents were amazing."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, my parents were the best, but my aunt, uncle, and cousin are a whole other story. They're petty brown nosers, who are blatantly prejudiced against witches and wizards, homosexuals, people who aren't caucasian and British, and poor people. They absolutely hate anything that doesn't fit in their version of normal."

Both Neville and Viktor's eyes widened at this. "Then how did you turn out so well?" Neville asked incredulously.

Harry laughed a humorlessly. "They hate me, so they tried to have as little to do with me as possible, so it didn't influence me that much. And I spent most of my time in the library, so I learned a lot about being a decent human being from books."

After Harry shared that information, Neville finally started to relax into the group. He didn't break out of his shell entirely, but it was a good start. Hermione and Luna smiled at each other knowingly. Once again, Harry was helping someone without even knowing that he was doing it. That was just who he was.

* * *

**A/N: I'd just like to thank everyone for all the awesome reviews that you've been sending me. You guys rock! And you should keep them coming... ;D**


	18. Neville and Gillyweed

**A/N: I have literally no excuse. None. My only advice to you is: don't try to take a full load of classes with no study hall, with half of them being advanced or AP; ****_and _****participate in 8 clubs/activities as a Freshman in high school. Believe it or not, sleep is necessary.**

* * *

Neville wandered down the hall aimlessly. He had just come from a rather strange studying session involving the brightest witch of the age, the strangest witch of the age, and two international phenomenons. He honestly hadn't experienced anything quite like it before. They had discussed, in detail, school work, the tournament, purple headed ploopies, the origin of thestrals, Dumbledore's clairvoyance, and the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow. The last topic of discussion had quickly diverged into subdivisions regarding types of swallows, and in the end they had agreed to disagree.

He was torn out of his musings when he caught sight of a young woman frantically scrambling to pick up the contents of her fallen bag. Neville, always the gentleman, leaned over to help her.

It was Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff in his year. Said Hufflepuff glanced up and stuttered slightly in surprise. "H-Hi Neville."

"Hey Hannah. Uh, what happened?" He scrambled a little for something to say to the almost-stranger in front of him.

The girl blushed even more. "I, er, was reading and walking." She turned the book she was holding towards him. 'Defense: Unusual Methods and Uses' "Defense- It's kinda my thing."

Neville's eyes lit up. "I read some of that the other day! I was using it as a reference to an essay for DADA, and it was actually really interesting. How far in are you?"

Her eyes lit up to match Neville's, "I'm just starting the section on Runes."

"Oh, that's right after the Herbology section, right?"

And the two continued walking down the hall together, discussing defense methods, the roots of a new friendship already beginning.

* * *

After bidding Neville and Viktor goodbye, the terrible trio had continued to research in the library. In an attempt to get the kink out of her neck, Luna snapped her head up abruptly... and subsequently hit a book hanging out from the shelf behind her. "Ow!" Hermione jumped at the sudden noise, dropping the books that she had been holding directly onto Harry's head, causing Harry to fall out of his seat, which knocked his chair back into Hermione, who then stumbled into the table, upturning it and taking both Luna and Hermione to the ground with it. This series of events created a rather awkward pile of papers, books, and teenagers. Luna blinked, looking around her at the mess they'd made before settling her eyes on Harry and Hermione. "So..." She started, breaking the stunned silence. "Come here often?"

They all threw their heads back and laughed. Luna smiled fondly at Harry. It was good to see him so open for once. She remembered what he had been like in the years when she had known_ of_ him, but hadn't really _known_ him. He had always seemed so guarded, so set on not sticking out and fading into the background as much as he could. This year… he was different. A good different. He wasn't nearly as awkward accepting praise, and he stopped trying to force himself into the background. That was good- he didn't belong in the background. They were a storm. Harry was lightning, striking first, hard and fast. Hermione was the thunder, coming after and forcing people to listen. And Luna herself? She was the rain- beating down steadily with them, never letting up, never letting people forget, even after the lightning and thunder had struck. Attention was bound to be on them for a long time to come; it was just who they were. People flocked to Harry, and he had the power to lead the sheep away from the darkness. He just didn't know it yet. Well, there was plenty of time for him to learn. Plenty of time for all of them.

"Luna?" Luna thoughts were interrupted by their very subject. Harry and Hermione were were getting up just in front of her. Apparently she had gotten lost in thought. "Are you okay?"

Luna smiled brilliantly at her two friends. "I'm fine- I was just thinking about the storm."

Hermione tilted her head as Harry reached down to help Luna up. "What? Luna, it's a beautiful day outside. There's no way there could be a storm today."

Luna's smile grew even wider. "Silly, I wasn't talking about the weather!" She laughed as she skipped up to them over the mess on the floor. A few waves of their wands later, everything was back in order. Harry checked his watch. "C'mon, we're going to be late for lunch!" Luna knew that they didn't understand, they couldn't… not yet. But they would. She nodded to herself in contentment as she dragged them, skipping and stumbling and laughing, into the Great Hall. They would.

* * *

A few days later, Hermione, Harry, and Neville were sitting in the Gryffindor common room in front of the fire, Luna being at a Ravenclaw house meeting. Harry and Neville were playing a slow game of chess- neither was particularly good at the game, but they were fairly evenly matched. Hermione, Luna, and Viktor could trounce the both of them in a matter of minutes, so they prefered to play with each other. Harry was in a rather awkward position with the dragon egg sitting in his lap- unlike Hermione's book, the egg was not a convenient size for just sitting around with.

Neville was the first to break the comfortable silence. "Hey, Harry- when is the egg supposed to hatch?"

Harry's face morphed into an expression of surprise as he reached up to scratch his neck embarrassedly. "Well, I don't really know."

Nevilled arched his eyebrow. "You've been carrying around a dragon egg for this long and you never once thought, 'gee, I wonder when this thing is supposed to hatch!'?"

Harry flushed pink as he threw a nearby pillow at Neville, who dodged while laughing. It was amazing how much the quiet Gryffindor had opened up in the days since he had come running into the library to tell them... wait a second. "Hey Neville- what was it that you were going to tell us in the library before you saw Viktor?"

Neville abruptly sat up, nearly knocking over the chess board in the process. "Merlin's saggy left nut- I can't believe I forgot!" He bolted out of his seat and up the stairs to the boys' dorms. Harry and Hermione looked at each other bemusedly before turning their attention back to the young man now stumbling his way back down the stairs with a heavy glossary of underwater plants. "I found it! I found a way for you to breathe underwater and I. Bloody. FORGOT about it!" He threw the book down in front of them and hurriedly opened it to the Gs. "Gillyweed! It's just like seaweed, except it gives you gills and the ability to breathe underwater for an hour!"

Harry grinned maniacally as he stood and slapped Neville's back. "Bloody hell, mate! You were right, plants really can be wicked."

Hermione was less contained in her response. "Neville, that's brilliant! I can't believe the answer was right under our noses this entire time! Thank goodness you had that book." She said animatedly as she jumped up and hugged Neville.

Nevilled grinned sheepishly. "Don't thank me, thank Professor Moody. He loaned it to me after he saw how shaken up I was by the Unforgiveables..." Neville stopped grinning as he saw the looks that were being exchanged between Harry and Hermione. "Guys? What's the matter?"

Harry and Hermione continued to look at each other, seeming to silently come to an agreement. "Okay, Neville. We are about to tell you something that absolutely must remain a secret- no matter what."

Neville nodded, becoming slightly trepiditious at the sudden change in his friends. "I promise- I won't tell anyone unless it's okay with you."

Hermione smiled tightly, and then she and Harry proceeded to fill him in on everything- how Professor Moody wasn't actually Professor Moody, how it looked like he was helping Harry, and how despite that, they thought he was a Death Eater. While they were at it, they also told him the truth about Sirius Black and his lack of trial. When they were finally finished, Neville was staring at them, mouth hanging open in shock. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other uneasily. Would Neville believe them?

"What- when could- why would- _how?_" He was utterly disgusted. How could the government be so careless as to not only deny a man a trial, one of his basic human rights? And they also ignored evidence when it was handed to them on a silver platter. "What the actual fuck? How could they just ignore your testimony like that? Yes, you're underage, but Black was charged with causing your parents' deaths! Why would you- what possible motive would _you_, of all people, have to lie for him?!"

Harry started laughing bitterly. "A 14 year old boy is smarter than practically the entire ministry. Thank you for being you, Neville."

"I'm not certain if that's a compliment- I mean, really, look at our ministry." Neville said snarkily, starting to recover from some of his shock.

They all smiled at his comment, but then Hermione frowned slightly. "I know this is kind of off topic, but, back to the gillyweed. Where would we get any? I don't think I've seen it in any of the potions supplies stores."

Nevilled grinned. "Gillyweed isn't used in many common potions- you'd have to custom order some from one of the bigger suppliers. I actually brought down a few plant catalogues," He continued, pulling some magazines out of the back of the book. "I would personally recommend _Herbology Monthly_, it's a bit more expensive, but it typically has the best selection, and very good quality and delivery time, but_ Plants Weekly_ isn't bad either."

And so the teens started flipping through the magazines, chattering amicably as they did so.

* * *

The next day was Sunday, December 18- precisely one week before the Yule Ball was to take place. Neville was working on his Potions assignments alone in the library when his date to the ball, Ginny Weasley, walked up to him. Neville looked up in surprise. "Er- hello Ginny." He said, a bit uncomfortable around the pretty young girl that he barely knew. "What's the matter?"

Ginny shifted uneasily. "I, er, wanted to talk to you about the ball."

"Oh! That's right- what color dress robes are you wearing? I can't believe that I forgot to ask you that so we could coordinate."

"Yeah, about that... I can't go to the ball with you anymore." Neville looked at her in shock. Was she really doing this a week before the ball? "Mum just sent me a letter an hour ago- Bill and Charlie and Percy are all coming home to visit, so she's changed her mind and Ron and the twins and I have to go home for break. It's not fair at all- she's letting Fred and George go to the ball and come home with Percy, but she said that I was too young to have a date, and she put my name on the list to go home without even telling me first, and oh Merlin I'm so sorry." She babbled, almost in tears.

Neville blinked rapidly and sighed. "It's okay- I understand."

Ginny let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to basically abandon you a week before the dance."

"It's alright Ginny- thank you for telling me so quickly after getting the letter."

Ginny babbled out another apology before she exited the library, face red with embarrassment. Nevilled sighed to himself and dropped his head to the table in frustration. "What am I gonna do now?"

* * *

Three more days had passed, and Neville was still no closer to finding a date for the ball. Every age appropriate girl who was going already had a date! Harry, Hermione, Luna, and Viktor had all been trying to find him a last minute date as well, but none of them had had any luck. He dropped his head onto the table- something that was becoming quite common for him, when someone dropped a pile of books right in front of him. Hannah Abbot sat down in the seat across from him. "I hope you don't mind me dropping in- but I'm bloody pissed right now!" She announced.

"Well, that makes two of us." Neville muttered dryly. "What's gotten you all bent out of shape?"

"My parents just sent me an owl- they won a trip to a ski resort for two, so I have to stay here for break! I wouldn't be that upset about it, but the train to go home leaves tomorrow, the Yule ball is happening in four days, and not only do I have no date, but I also have no dress robes because I wasn't planning on going!"

Neville's head snapped up. "Oh thank God! My date cancelled on me three days ago- will you go to the ball with me?"

Hannah started laughing giddily. "Yes of course-" She gasped. "I need to get dress robes- and we need to color coordinate! C'mon, the owl-order catalogues await!" And with that they quickly grabbed their things and Hannah started dragging Neville to the Hufflepuff common room.

* * *

**A/N: It may seem a little weird now for Neville to get so much focus, but it'll make a lot more sense in the next couple chapters, and it really helps the plot. You'll see. **

**Don't forget to review- even if it's just to tell me what a jerk I've been!**

**P.S. I've cleaned up the first 5 chapters, and I'll sort out the rest over the next few days- *laughs sheepishly* my timelines are a couple weeks off.**

**P.P.S. So I got several PMs, turns out that in chapters 2-4 when I reloaded them, they reloaded as that weird html:roman/ whatever that's impossible to read. I fixed it so that it's readable, but now I've lost all the cleanup that I did on those chapters. *cries inside* So, over the next few days, I'll actually go through and redo my edits, but for now the old version will have to do- I'm running late!**


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